H2scan TM Catalog 2025 - Flipbook - Page 33
Reprinted from
Solid-State Hydrogen
Monitors
Solid-state hydrogen monitors can be a
significant tool to help asset managers
improve overall electric system reliability.
As electric utilities work hard to get the most out of every dollar they
spend, they have a hard time justifying the addition of online monitoring
equipment when the cost of maintenance and/or monitor replacement
can be significant. For this reason, they need to be strategic about what
monitoring is installed. They need a clear understanding of the lifetime
costs of the monitoring versus the anticipated life of the asset, an
understanding of the benefits the monitoring provides, and a knowledge
of the accounting issues involved.
Research has shown that online monitoring can significantly extend the life
of existing assets by alerting users to minor problems before they become
major problems. In that sense, key parameters should be measured on
every major asset to ensure proper operation. Think of this as a warning light
in a car’s dashboard — if the light comes on, it’s important to understand
why the light is on and what needs to be done to correct the issue.
Transformer Monitoring Solutions
Over the last 100 years, transformer owners have come to rely heavily on
the data received from manual oil samples taken annually. By looking
at dielectric strength, color, moisture content, gases in the oil, and other
properties, these tests offer a snapshot of the transformer’s health at the
January 2021
time the sample was taken. This is much like a doctor asking a patient to
get a routine blood panel during an annual physical. The doctor uses this
data to recommend corrective actions. In the same way, engineers use
transformer oil sample data to let them know if the transformer has an
issue that needs to be addressed.
Ideally, transformer owners would have real-time access to all the critical
parameters that can be monitored on their transformers. Unfortunately,
the costs and complexity of those monitoring solutions are typically hard
to justify because of the high reliability of transformers versus the cost of
the monitoring. Many transformer owners feel that because the failure rate
of transformers is typically only 1% to 3% per year, there are better places to
allocate budget. This ideology works well until a transformer failure causes
major disruption and expense.
Historically, utilities think of power transformers as a 30-year asset. While
that assumption may have been true in the past, it is not clear that utilities
can continue to expect that kind of performance going forward. This is
because newer transformers are significantly smaller, yet have the same
or higher power ratings than previous transformer generations. This begs
the question of how a transformer that is half the size can have the same
or higher rating as the one that was just replaced after 40 years?
Transformer Designs
In order to understand this, let’s explore how transformers are designed
today versus 40 years ago. Improvements in computer modeling, better
materials, and another 40 years of experience have allowed transformer
designers to significantly reduce the size of transformers. Although these
factors have contributed to more efficient designs, global competition has
been the real driving factor forcing manufacturers to drive out costs to
become more competitive to stay in business.
Figure 1. Hydrogen was generated in the transformer oil because of overheating on a
low-voltage bushing connection owing to a loose nut on a 500-MVA generator step-up
transformer. A hydrogen monitor alerted the owner to the problem. The transformer
was repaired on-site.
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pg.33
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