From the category archives: Power Systems

Power systems theory - generation, transmissions and distribution

Tech Topics/Application Notes - Siemens

By Steven McFadyen on 3/13/2012 6:21 AM

There are a lot of interesting two page type notes on various medium voltage topics – switchgear, circuit breakers, bus systems etc. It is on the Siemens US site, so many of he note are IEEE/ANSI ... read more..


Introduction to Traction Substations

By Steven McFadyen on 2/26/2012 12:16 PM

Following on from my post on railway electrification voltages, I thought an introduction to traction substation... read more..


Railway Electrification Voltages

By Steven McFadyen on 1/23/2012 11:38 AM

This post is quick introduction and overview to different railway electrification voltages used in answer to a question sent in via email. While there are numerous voltages in use through out the w... 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..


Difference Between Live and Dead Tank Circuit Breakers

By Steven McFadyen on 11/11/2011 10:51 AM

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 at line voltage (or some voltage above g... 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..


Differential protection, the good old days

By Steven McFadyen on 10/3/2011 1:52 PM

This morning I was explaining how differential protection works to a junior engineer. To give him something to read I opened up the NPAG (Network Protection and Automation Guide, by Areva) and turned to... read more..


Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Insulation

By Steven McFadyen on 7/6/2011 3:12 AM

While there are a vast array of cable insulation materials, these are often divided into two general types; Thermoplastic or Thermosetting. For example the current capacity determination of a cable in a... read more..


Smarter Electrical Distribution

By Steven McFadyen on 4/24/2011 2:52 AM

The other day I came across an article in Technology Review on the development of a smart transformer. A professor at North Carolina State University is developing a transistor based transformer ca... read more..


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..


Why a Sine Wave?

By Steven McFadyen on 3/7/2010 1:34 AM

I received this question by email a few weeks. First thoughts was that it is a product of the mathematics of rotating a straight conductor in a magnetic field. While I guess this is the primary issue... read more..




RLC Circuit, Resistor Power Loss - some Modelica experiments

Modelica is an open source (free) software language for modelling complex systems. Having never used it before, I thought I would download a development...

Post Authorship

In 2011, with the introduction of it’s Panda search ranking algorithms, Google introduced tools for determining the original author of posts.  The intention...

8 Motor parts and common faults

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...

Meeting room of the future

The IET site has a video of a visit showing of a high tech meeting room developed at Napier University in Edinburgh. It a good demonstration of innovative...

Understanding electric motor insulation & temperature

Anyone specifying or using electric motors should have a basic understanding how the insulation is related to temperature. Three classes of insulation...

Occam's Razor

I was reminded of Occam's Razor while reading a book. It's quite a simple principal of logic which has stood the test of time and is accepted as central...

Software Usage Guidelines

Using software in our  work is essential for most of us and we are becoming even more dependant on it's use.  While software is a great asset, many times...

Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Insulation

While there are a vast array of cable insulation materials, these are often divided into two general types; Thermoplastic or Thermosetting. For example...

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...

Network Theory – Introduction and Review

In electrical engineering, Network Theory is the study of how to solve circuit problems. By analyzing circuits, the engineer looks to determine the various...

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