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Power Substation Control

Power Monitoring and Protection Implementations Related to Power Substation Control

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AC/DC Adaptor

Design Considerations

Power monitoring and protection, common in substation automation end equipments, gives remote operators the ability to monitor the functionality of substation electrical equipment (e.g., circuit breakers, transformers, relays, etc.) via supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) capabilities at the substation. Therefore, equipment function and operation is monitored and controlled from a remote location where communication is via modem, high-speed communication lines, or fiber optic cables.

Microprocessor-based relays perform online monitoring and control operations, eliminating the need to have separate SCADA networks at multiple locations, which eliminates redundant sensors, wiring, and transducers. Traditional switchboards (i.e., panels, mechanical switches, red and green lights, etc.) are now replaced by a graphical user interface (GUI) accessible through a PC.

Various sensors collect performance and condition information on essential station equipment, such as transformers and circuit breakers, and data is stored for future reference. This time-based data will be used to perform specialized functions and provide decision-making guidance to operators, maintenance planners, and engineering.

There are various signal-chain approaches to sample and measure high-voltage power data using TI signal chain solutions:

Using a unipolar analog-to-digital converter (ADC) input, a resistor divider and level shifter is very common for the high input impedance of ADS8364 or ADS8365. The voltage reference in this circuit is 2.5V normally. INA159 is specifically designed for this type of application - To attenuate the signal with only a unipolar power supply. Attempting to build the same circuit with external components could cost more and reduce performance.

Alternatively, TI plans the bipolar input analog-to-digital converters, ADS8556 or ADS8557, which have +/-10V inputs with high impedance and can be used with OPA2211, OPA827, or OPA4277 for signal conditioning and to drive the ADC. This approach will reduce the need for level-shifting circuitry and simplify design.

Designers will save cost by replacing a power module with a TPS65130. This DC/DC converter will generate up to +/-15 supply for bipolar signal conditioning and ADC input requirements.

TI's OMAP-L137 and TMS320C6745 digital signal processors and TMS320F2833 microcontrollers are ideal for processing sampled data and performing FFT type calculations efficiently in power monitoring and control applications, which require a large amount of data sampling and processing to detect the RMS’s of current and voltage, real power, reactive power, harmonics, and high order harmonics. These processors are capable of reacting quickly to overload/over-current, over-voltage, and surge and sag conditions. The C2000 (‘F2833x) family of processors are optimized for fast and efficient real-time control; whereas OMAP_L1xx and C674x are optimized for maximum data processing. Finally, the OMAP_L1xx and C674x have operating system support and ENET ports which are often desired by this application space.

The F2833 has on-chip flash and a 12-bit ADC. The integrated 12-bit ADC will not be used in power line current and voltage sensing, but it is perfectly suited to sense environmental and other operation variables.

Interface circuit between boards typically includes CAN, RS485, or M-LVDS with high-speed clock. The advantage of M-LVDS is for high speed data.
    

Selection and Solution Guides

Selection Guides (1)

Title Abstract Type Size (KB) Date Views
PDF 4.91 MB 03 Jul 2008 1179

Tools and Software

Name Part # Company Software/Tool Type
Code Composer Studio (CCStudio) Integrated Development Environment (IDE) v5 CCSTUDIO Texas Instruments Code Composer Studio(TM) IDE
Fully Differential Amplifier Component Calculator FULLDIFFAMP-CALC Texas Instruments Calculation Utilities
SPICE-Based Analog Simulation Program TINA-TI Texas Instruments Simulators

Product Bulletin & White Papers

Product Bulletin (2)

Title Abstract Type Size (MB) Date Views
PDF 97 KB 15 Jun 2009 863
PDF 127 KB 08 Apr 2009 686

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