Notes

Generator Sizing & Operation Limits

By Steven McFadyen on 11/2/2010 3:07 AM

When selecting a generator, there are inherent limits on the active and reactive power which can be delivered. Generators are normally sized for a certain kW at a power factor of 0.8. However, to unders... read more..

Star-Delta Motor Starting - Performance

By Steven McFadyen on 7/10/2014 3:51 PM

Many questions sent in to the site are in connection with motor starting and in particular star-delta. For all but the simplest application, there is merit in performing a more detailed study.&... read more..

IEC 60287 Current Capacity of Cables - An Introduction

By Steven McFadyen on 1/31/2013 1:00 PM

IEC 60287 "Calculation of the continuous current rating of cables (100% load factor)" is the International Standard which defines the procedures and equations to be used in determining the ... read more..

Electromagnetic Fields - Exposure Limits

By Steven McFadyen on 6/28/2014 6:00 PM

Exposure to time varying magnetic fields, from power frequencies to the gigahertz range can have harmful consequences. A lot of research has been conducted into identifying these effects and de... read more..

DC Component of Asymmetrical Faults

By Steven McFadyen on 1/9/2013 6:52 PM

The image (reproduced from IEC 60909) shows a typical fault in an ac system. From the illustration it can seen that there is an initial dc component (i_d.c.). This initial dc compo... read more..

Induction Motor Equivalent Circuit

By Steven McFadyen on 5/13/2014 1:19 PM

Induction motors are frequently used in both industrial and domestic applications. Within the induction motor, an electrical current in the rotor is induced by a varying magnetic field in the s... read more..

Photovoltaic (PV) - Electrical Calculations

By Steven McFadyen on 7/11/2013 2:46 PM

Photovoltaic (PV) cells (sometimes called solar cells) convert solar energy into electrical energy. Every year more and more PV systems are installed. With this growing application, it's ... read more..

How D.C. to A.C. Inverters Work

By Steven McFadyen on 4/22/2014 1:19 PM

Traditionally generation of electricity has involved rotating machines to produce alternating sinusoidal voltage and current (a.c. systems). With the development of power electronics during the last ... read more..

The dc resistance of conductors

By Steven McFadyen on 1/5/2012 2:14 PM

This is the first of two posts on the resistance of conductors. In the next post I will look at the ac resistance, including skin effect and we deal with this. To get started, this post will look at the... read more..

How to Size Power Cable Duct

By Steven McFadyen on 11/24/2011 10:09 AM

Some colleagues had an issue earlier in the week on sizing conduits to be cast in concrete for some power cables . It became clear that none of us had a clear idea on an approved method. In the end w... read more..

How to Size Current Transformers

By Steven McFadyen on 11/7/2011 11:48 AM

The correct sizing of current transformers is required to ensure satisfactory operation of measuring instruments and protection relays. Several methods exist to size current transformers. This note will... read more..

Back to Basics - Ohm’s Law

By Steven McFadyen on 10/21/2011 2:02 PM

Electrical engineering has a multitude of laws and theorems. It is fair to say the Ohm's Law is one of the more widely known; it not the most known. Developed in 1827 by Georg Ohm the law defines the re... read more..

Pages: Prev 1 234 5 6 7...16 Next Return Top

Difference Between Live and Dead Tank Circuit Breakers

A quick post in connection with an email question: Live Tank - the circuit breaker the switching unit is located in an insulator bushing which is live...

UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply

A UPS is an uninterruptible power supply. It is a device which maintains a continuous supply of electrical power, even in the event of failure of the...

Operational Amplifier

The fundamental component of any analogue computer is the operational amplifier, or op amp. An operational amplifier (often called an op-amp,) is a high...

Mobile Phones (Brick to Implant)

The mobile phone was born in 1973. They were the size of a brick and weighed a couple of kg, making them difficult to fit into your pocket. At a few thousand...

Skin Tapping Input

Tapping your forearm or hand with a finger could soon be the way you interact with gadgets. A new technology created by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon ...

ABB Technical Guides - Motor Operation

ABB has produced a range of technical guides that offer concise explanations of the major technologies and technical issues in low voltage AC drives. ...

Robotics - Home Innovations

We have a sister note to this (Robots - Interesting Video), in which I have posted some videos of interesting robots developed by commercial corporations...

Multimeter

Multimeters are undoubtedly the most common item of electrical test equipment in use. Often it is the first piece of equipment people will turn to when...

9 power supply issues solved by using a UPS

Installation of a UPS can help in reducing problems due to issues with the power supply. A lot of people relate this to nine key issues. Depending on...

UPS Battery Sizing

Various techniques exist to enable the correct selection of batteries for UPS applications. The procedure described below is one of the more common. ...

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note.

Click here to view the notes list in a table format

Click here to view the notes indexed by tag

Popular Tags

Have some knowledge to share