POWERFORMER

R. Shankar Raju Roll No: 07915A0211 IV / IV II Semester EEE, V.J.I.T

INTRODUCTION

Powerformer is a 3 phase AC generator which is capable of generating output voltage ranging from 30 kv to 400 kv that can be directly connected to the high voltage transmission grid by replacing the generator and step-up power transformer used in todays power plant.

FEATURES

It can produce high output voltage ranging from 30 kv to 400 kv High efficiency, Highly reliable Improves reactive power output and overload capacity of the system Robust in construction

Schematic Diagram

a)

Conventional transformer

plant

with

step

up

b)

Same plant Using power former

Design

Powerformer has a rotor design similar to a conventional generator The difference in design of stator of a Powerformer and a conventional generator lies in its stator windings

Powerformer stator uses a high voltage cables instead of a square cross section wires for its winding.

Cables Used In Stator Winding Of Powerformer

The power cable consists of a stranded conductor, solid insulation and two semi conducting layers

The insulation material is cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), a material successfully used in high-voltage power cables

Electric Field Distribution

The two semi conducting layers, one surrounds the conductor and the other outside the insulation, the semi conducting layers serves as an equipotential surface that forces the electric field to be uniform around the circumference

Sectional View

Stator View

Type Faults And Their Behaviour

There are mainly two type of faults internal and external For a conventional system the internal fault refers to a fault that occurs at the terminals of the generator, and an external fault is a fault that occurs at the high-voltage side of the step-up transformer

For a Powerformer system, internal and external faults are basically the same as a Powerformer that is connected directly to the high-voltage bus-bar in the generating station

External Faults

The fault currents from a Powerformer at external three-phase short circuits will be of the same magnitude as the fault current from the conventional unit.

External single-phase ground faults will be lower than that from the conventional unit. The reason is that the neutral point of a Powerformer is isolated from ground while the neutral point of the step-up transformer of the conventional generator is solidly grounded.

Internal Faults

The internal three-phase short-circuit current of a Powerformer is less than that of the conventional generator due to its higher output voltage. In the case of the internal two-phase-to-ground and the internal phase-to-phase faults, the fault current in a conventional generating unit will be substantially higher than the fault current in the Powerformer.

For the internal single phase-to-ground internal fault, the fault current in a conventional generating unit is much lower than that of the Powerformer due to the high impedance grounding of the neutral of the conventional generator

Comparision Of Fault Currents

Cooling System

The cooling system of the Powerformer stator core is also based on a new concept . This is due to the low current in the cables of the stator winding and the lower ratio between ohmic and iron losses than that for a conventional generator. Accordingly, most of the heat is generated in the stator core, which is grounded. This fact greatly simplifies the cooling system. The new cooling system is an indirect system that cools the stator core by axially inserted water pipes made of high density XLPE. Thus, the stator has no radial air cooling ducts, and this leads to a homogeneous stator core. This makes the gross length of the stator shorter, the efficiency improves, and the stator assembly is more convenient, especially with respect to the cable installation through the slots. As the water cooling is carried out at ground potential, there is no need for de-ionized water as in the conventional water-cooled stator windings. Ordinary tap water may be used for the cooling of the Powerformer stator core.

First Powerformer Installation

The worlds first powerformer was installed at porjus hydropower centre on the lule river in northern Sweden rated at 11 MVA, 45 kV, and 600 rpm The data from the two units installed at porjus is shown below

Compared Parameters
App. Power (MVA) Voltage (kV) Current (A) Speed (rpm) Length (mm) Stator Outer d (mm) No of Cables per Slot Weight of Stator (ton) Weight of Rotor (ton) Xdi

Generator
11 10 635 429 750 3100 11.5 23.0 0.98

Powerformer
11 45 141 600 1450 3050 12 34.5 22.8 0.79

Xdu
Xdu Efficiency

0.25
0.16 97.2%

0.22
0.17 97.6%

Development Of Powerformer Rated Voltage

Existing Powerformer Generators

Advantages

High efficiency.
Reactive power capability. Low maintenance cost.

Reduced environmental impact.

Efficiency

Powerformer plants have 0.5-1.5 % less active losses than conventional plants. In general, a power plant with Powerformer has 0.5-1.5 % higher efficiency than a conventional power plant. For example a 120 MW plant with Powerformer plant with 1.5 efficiency will produce 1.8 MW more power than a conventional plant which increases the overall economy of the plant.

Reactive Power Capability

The generation of reactive power is needed to compensate for the reactive power losses in the transmission networks. With Powerformer the reactive power losses in the step-up transformer is eliminated.

Low Maintenance Cost

With Powerformer, every thing to the right of plane A-A can be eliminated, leading to power plants with fewer components, For example Powerformer technology eliminates the step-up transformer, the handling of oils, generator circuit breaker and part of the bus-bar system. Fewer components means fewer sources of potential faults and thus considerably lower maintenance and maintenance costs.

Reduced Environmental Impact

A 150 MVA Powerformer versus a conventional 136 MVA generator, breaker and transformer system. A lifetime of 30 years was assumed, the environmental impact is expressed in Environmental Load Unit (ELU), a high impact on the environment gives large ELU number. The results are shown in Figure (6), which shows that the Powerformer system has lower environmental impact than a traditional system during all of its life time phases, this is mainly because Powerformer has less energy losses.

Comparison between a conventional system and a power former system

Conventional system Transformer MV bus-bar Generator switches Space & volume = 1 Many parts Weight = 1 Overload capacity = 1 Powerformer system None None None Space & volume < 1 Few parts Weight < 1 Overload capacity > 1

Reactive power capability = 1 Reactive power capability > 1

Disadvantages

Powerformer output voltage is limited by the AC power cable and the cable accessories (terminations and joints) used in stator winding

Conclusion

Powerformer (high-voltage generator) has been studied through out this seminar; this new concept provides the possibility to directly connect a rotating machine to the high-voltage power grid without going via a step-up transformer resulting in higher efficiency. Powerformers enable very clean and compact power plants that are not only economical, reliable, and environment friendly but also more efficient than conventional ones.

Thank You