STABLE POWER SUPPLIES IN POWER STATION

A power station is meant for supply power to the user. Normally the power flows from the generating station to the load end. But in an adverse situation when any unit or the power station is dead suddenly it requires adequate planning to restore from the adverse situation keeping the process parameters & the equipments safe. For running the vital equipments the following stable powers are used here as described below 220V DC: - The principal duty of this system is to provide secure DC supply for the following loads: Emergency lighting Providing power to the emergency motors (Turbine DC EOP, DC JOP, DC Seal oil of Generator etc). Providing control power to trip/close the breakers (here 6.6KV) as needed for during normal/emergency. Providing power to trip the fuel systems (both oil & coal) Emergency valve operation (TLR, extraction valves) Running dc scanner fan when ac power is not available.

AC input

RECTIFIER/ CHARGER BATTERY RECTIFIER/ CHARGER (spare)

220v DC to load

UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply), 230V AC: - this is considered the second stable source. The main functions of UPS are To provide power in uninterrupted manner to the load. The power should be pure. Output Power should be stable irrespective of input voltage or frequency variations. The standard block diagram of any UPS is as shown in figure 1;The normal 415v or 230v ac source is the incoming source to UPS. A transformer is used to transform 415v to 230v ac if the supply is 415v. Then this input is filtered & fed into a controlled rectifier ckt. for rectification. The controlled rectifier is used to vary the value of output DC voltage. This voltage is fed to inverter & also to battery for charging. The

inverter transforms the dc input voltage into a stable ac output voltage. This output voltage is the final UPS output voltage, which is used to feed the critical loads. In case if there is no input power to UPS then the output of rectifier is nil. The battery then comes into the picture. The dc voltage stored in the battery drive the inverter to produce the required AC output power. Thus in case of any sudden power failure, no interruption to the critical loads would occur. If there is any problem in the inverter ckt or in battery, the output is automatically switched over to the bypass system, consisting of SVR (static voltage regulator). This regulator has a regulatory ckt to supply regulated (constant) voltage output. Now, to switch over from inverter output to SVR output & vice versa one critical component is needed, i.e. transfer switch. Normally one switch is kept ON & the other is automatically OFF. The function of transfer switch is that the load should not experience any change in the supply change over. Normally within 1.5 cycles of 50 Hz sine wave (30 mSec) this changeover should be completed. The transfer switch transfer the load automatically to SVR (bypass) in case of battery dc voltage low Inverter failure. Excessive inverter overload/short ckt on load The load re-transfer, back to the inverter, is completed automatically with the very small interruption in the output waveform when the inverter has returned to normal & maintained a stable output. The scheme of BkTPP UPS is shown in fig 2. Here the UPS output is 230v ac, single phase. This power is fed to critical panels like control desk, all the computerised operating console, important panels like Turbine protection, turbine control, turbine supervisory, generator seal system etc. In normal running condition two static switches1,2 are on catering 50% of load each. In case any one develops fault, that switch changes to OFF state keeping the healthier one to cater 100% load. The faulty inverter would break automatically from the load bus before it can affect the operation of healthy inverter(within one half cycle). If both failed then the load is transferred to transfer sw 3. All the transfer switches used here consisting of IGBTs for fast transfer. There is one maintenance bypass sw which can be made on manually during any major shutdown of UPS system.

24V DC: - The principal duty of this system is to provide secure DC for the following loads Process control panels Annunciation panels Display of vital parameters

 Providing power to some vital remote panels which require 24V power, like LP bypass, AVR etc

For better supply all the panels are wired from 2 sources with diode coupling.

AC input

RECTIFIER/ CHARGER BATTERY

24v DC to load (source 1)

AC input

RECTIFIER/ CHARGER BATTERY

220v DC to load (source 2)

diode source 1 source 2

load

BATTERY: - Almost in all the power stations lead acid type is used as the stable battery source. In charged condition, the positive plate is consisting of lead dioxide; negative plate consisting of lead & the medium is sulphuric acid.
Discharging

PbO2 + Pb + 2H2SO4

Charging

<

> PbSO4 + PbSO4 + 2H20

In discharged condition, both positive & negative plates consist of lead sulphate & the electrolyte medium will be the water. In older power station, lead acid tubular type cell is used. A newer design of this type is called Plante type cells. Here the positive plates are made of pure lead instead of pasted plate of older type. The benefit is good life expectancy. Another modified type of this one is sealed lead acid batteries. It is called as maintenance free as no topping up of water or monitoring of specific gravity at regular interval is needed. The electrolyte

is kept absorbed in a separator, which is placed in between positive & negative plates. The separator has special properties to retain the gases. As no acid spillage/acid fumes present in these batteries it can be kept in an air-conditioned room for better performance. In some power stations NiCd type rechargeable batteries are also used. Battery charging: In normal running plant, the load is connected to the dc voltage generated from ac source as well as to the battery. If the batteries are discharged for a brief period during some emergency or for routine discharge/testing then to top up the charge of battery float charging is necessary which is done by the same charger after restoration of power. When the battery is discharged for a longer period, the cell voltage drops down a little bit more then boost charging is needed to bring back it in normal condition. In boost charging the load have to be cut-off & only charging of the battery takes place at a greater charging rate. In unit normal running condition the float charger will be ON & it supplies the dc load with trickle charging the battery. A cell when not used (kept as spares) normally getting discharged by selfdischarging. A very small amount of charge in needed to retain the full capacity of the battery. This charge is called as freshening charge & have to be given periodically.

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER (PLC) PLC is developed as a substitute to conventional relay wirings in electrical panels, which are very cumbersome process, & troubleshooting time is very high. The advantages are High reliability Ease of programming On-line troubleshooting Small physical size Low maintenance cost Modular design Reprogramming can be done easily Computer connectivity & control Block diagram of a PLC system: O U T P U T

INPUT DEVICE 1

MEMORY

OUTPUT DEVICE 1

I N P U T

CPU
INPUT DEVICE 2 OUTPUT DEVICE 2

S
PROGRAMMER

S PLC

INPUT DEVICES: Inputs are defined as real-world signals giving the PLC a real time status of process variables. The signals can be of analog or digital, maintained or momentary, low or high frequency signals. Normally the signals are processed through a filter ckt & opto-coupler/GALVANIC COUPLER for protection of the total PLC system, as all the internal signals of PLC are low voltage type. Common type signals are any switch /relay changeover contact, push button, limit switch, lockout switch any protection device switching etc. Analog types are resistance, current or voltage input. OUTPUT DEVICES: The outputs are also mainly of two types digital or analog. The digitals again can be subdivided into low current type (<500Ma) or high current type (normally known as relay output type) (< 3A). Practical digital outputs are indication lamps, solenoid valves, and annunciation windows, command to MCC/breaker to drive a load. Output ckts are also protected from the field by opto/galvanic couplers. CPU :The CPU (central processing unit) performs the tasks necessary to fulfil the PLC function. It reads the program as stored in its memory block, checks the input status & gives command to output devices as per program. It also checks the health of the total devices connected to it. Normally to do the job of scanning of one complete cycle is called the scan time of the PLC. Inside the CPU card a memory unit is attached where the executive program is stored. An executive program is the same as OS in a PC. There is another program called the user program (application program) where the program is written by the user. This program can be checked, modified or can by totally changed by the user using programmer/PC. Different types of chips/chipset are used for memories. They can be of ROM, EPROM, and EEROM ETC. Programmer: The programmer unit provides an interface between the PLC and the user program during program development, start-up, & on-line troubleshooting. It is the liaison between what PLC understands in electronic form & what a person desires to perform during a control sequence. The programmers can be of dedicated type or can be used with the PC with suitable software. Different Type of PLC languages are used in different make PLCs. The most common one is relay ladder language. Other popular programming types are statement list, functional block diagram etc. Major differences between a PLC & DCS: If the input/output is more digital type then PLC is better choice. If on the other hand they are of mainly analog type & process related application type DCS is suitable. Programming language is much easier in PLC than in DCS systems. Maintenance & trouble shooting is much easier in PLC. PLCs are designed to operate near the equipment that is in hot, humid, dirty, noisy industrial environments while DCS is normally designed to operate in clean airconditioned environment.

 Input output modules can be expanded easily in PLC. Major PLCs used here are for sequential running of coal conveyor belts, in sequential empting of ash hoppers, running of hydrogen generation plant, sequential running of DM plant chains. There are so many minor PLCs used here for small applications. The makers of PLC used here are of Siemens, GE Fanuc, ABB, Omron, Allen Bradley make.