Power systems theory - generation, transmissions and distribution
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..
Traditionally substations have used circuit breakers, current transformers (CT), voltage transformers (VT) and protection relays all wired together using copper cables. With advances in digital... read more..
Modelica is an open source (free) software language for modelling complex systems. Having never used it before, I thought I would download a development platform and see how it stacked up. This... read more..
Within Europe the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) has standardised the both the designation and colour of cables. These are published in CENELEC document... read more..
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 mains (utility) supply. A UPS is inst... read more..
Power cables can basically be classified into earthed and unearthed cables, where earthed and unearthed refer to the application for which the cable is used. Earthed system refers to a three phase syste... read more..
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..
Fire resistant and fire retardant cable sheaths are design to resist combustion and limit the propagation of flames. Low smokes cables have a sheath designed to limit the amount of smoke and toxic ha... read more..
Capacitors have numerous applications in electrical and electronic applications. This note examines the use of capacitors to store electrical energy. The sidebar shows details of a typical c... read more..
If two dissimilar metals are touching and an external conducting path exists, corrosion of one the metals can take place. Moisture or other materials acting as an electrolyte between the metals... read more..
While not as popular as it once was, frame leakage protection does still have some use in some circumstances. In essence frame leakage is an earth fault type protection. A current transfo... read more..
Ever wondered what kind of power an aircraft uses when parked at the airport stand.
Normally the aircraft generates it own power, but when parked with the engines switched off power provided ... read more..
If your are ever called out to troubleshoot something on your electrical system, one of the first things consider is the supply voltage. You want to ensure...
This is the second post in a series of two on periodic electrical inspections. In the first post, I discussed how often inspections should be carried out...
GE have put together a time-lapse video shown flight take-off and landings at some airports. An interesting view:
Lamps are the essential part of any luminaire. These are the light generating components. Since the advent of electrical lighting in the middle of the...
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...
Famed English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, a suburb of Surrey just south of the London Bridge...
Straight forward list of some common motor faults. If I have missed any other common faults, please take a bit of time to add them in as a comment below...
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 ...
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While there are a vast array of cable insulation materials, these are often divided into two general types; Thermoplastic or Thermosetting. For example...
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