Introduction to Traction Substations
Following on from my post on railway electrification voltages, I thought an introduction to traction substations would be a good idea. Traction substations...
Autonomous Vehicle Challenge
Two driverless and solar power vans have departed from Italy on their way to China via the silk road. During the 13,000 kM trip the vans will drive themselves...
Power Factor
Power factor is the ratio between the real power (P in kW) and apparent power (S in kVA) drawn by an electrical load. The reactive power (Q in kVAr)...
Lightning Risk Assessment (IEC 62305)
IEC 62305 'Protection against lightning' requires a risk assessment be carried out to determine the characteristics of any lightning protection system...
Magicians of Engineering
The other day I was reading 'Night of the New Magicians' by Mary Pope Osborn with my son. The story is about a young boy and girl who travel back in time...
Thomas Edison
American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. He was the youngest of seven children and received little formal schooling...
Cable Sheath and Armour Loss
When sizing cables, the heat generated by losses within any sheath or armour need to be evaluated. When significant, it becomes a factor to be considered...
IEC 60287 Current Capacity of Cables - Rated Current
In the previous note we looked at the approach taken by the standard to the sizing of cables and illustrated this with an example. We then looked at one...
Fault Calculation - Per Unit System
Per unit fault calculations is a method whereby system impedances and quantities are normalised across different voltage levels to a common base. By removing...
IEEE Winds of Change
IEEE TV has a part series of videos on wind power and it's implication. For a really good overview to the technologies and issues around wind power, these...