Systems, methods and patches for monitoring a structural health of a connector in overhead transmission lines
First Claim
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1. A system for determining a structural health of a compression connector, the system comprising:
- a plurality of piezoelectric patches attached to a sleeve of the compression connector at different locations, each piezoelectric patch comprising a positive electrode, a piezoelectric element and a negative electrode;
an impedance analyzer in electrical communication with each piezoelectric patch via a respective first wire and a respective second wire, the impedance analyzer and the positive electrode of a respective piezoelectric patch is in electrical communication via the respective first wire, the impedance analyzer and the negative electrode of a respective piezoelectric patch is in electrical communication via the respective second wire;
a processor configured to determine the structural health of the compression connector based on a determined impedance associated with a respective piezoelectric patch at each of a plurality of frequencies, determined at two different times, the impedance being determined based on an AC voltage and a detected current, at each of the plurality of frequencies for the respective piezoelectric patch; and
a plurality of switches,wherein the processor is configured to selectively couple the impedance analyzer to the piezoelectric patches via one or more of the plurality of switches,wherein when the one or more switches couples the impedance analyzer to a respective piezoelectric patch, the impedance analyzer is configured to supply the AC voltage to the respective piezoelectric patch and detect the current associated with the respective piezoelectric patch, the AC voltage being supplied at the plurality of frequencies from a minimum frequency to a maximum frequency in a step size, andwherein the impedance analyzer is configured to determine the impedance associated with the respective piezoelectric patch based on the AC voltage and the detected current, at each of the plurality of frequencies.
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Abstract
Systems, methods and piezoelectric patches are provided for monitoring the structural health of connectors in overhead transmission lines. A plurality of piezoelectric patches is mounted to different locations on the connector. At least one of the patches is actuated using an AC voltage and certain electrical properties either from the same patch or of a different patch are evaluated over time to determine the structural health of the connectors.
3 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system for determining a structural health of a compression connector, the system comprising:
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a plurality of piezoelectric patches attached to a sleeve of the compression connector at different locations, each piezoelectric patch comprising a positive electrode, a piezoelectric element and a negative electrode; an impedance analyzer in electrical communication with each piezoelectric patch via a respective first wire and a respective second wire, the impedance analyzer and the positive electrode of a respective piezoelectric patch is in electrical communication via the respective first wire, the impedance analyzer and the negative electrode of a respective piezoelectric patch is in electrical communication via the respective second wire; a processor configured to determine the structural health of the compression connector based on a determined impedance associated with a respective piezoelectric patch at each of a plurality of frequencies, determined at two different times, the impedance being determined based on an AC voltage and a detected current, at each of the plurality of frequencies for the respective piezoelectric patch; and a plurality of switches, wherein the processor is configured to selectively couple the impedance analyzer to the piezoelectric patches via one or more of the plurality of switches, wherein when the one or more switches couples the impedance analyzer to a respective piezoelectric patch, the impedance analyzer is configured to supply the AC voltage to the respective piezoelectric patch and detect the current associated with the respective piezoelectric patch, the AC voltage being supplied at the plurality of frequencies from a minimum frequency to a maximum frequency in a step size, and wherein the impedance analyzer is configured to determine the impedance associated with the respective piezoelectric patch based on the AC voltage and the detected current, at each of the plurality of frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for determining a structural health of a compression connector, the system comprising:
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a plurality of piezoelectric patches attached to a sleeve of the compression connector at different locations, the plurality of piezoelectric patches comprising a first piezoelectric patch and a second piezoelectric patch, each piezoelectric patch comprising a positive electrode, a piezoelectric element and a negative electrode; a voltage generation circuit in electrical communication with each piezoelectric patch via a respective first wire and a respective second wire, each first wire electrically coupling the voltage generation circuit and the positive electrode of the respective piezoelectric patch, each second wire electrically coupling the voltage generation circuit and the negative electrode of the respective piezoelectric patch, the voltage generation circuit configured to supply an AC voltage to the first piezoelectric patch, the AC voltage being supplied at a plurality of frequencies from a minimum frequency to a maximum frequency in a step size; a data acquisition circuit in electric communication with each piezoelectric patch via a respective first wire and a respective second wire, each first wire electrically coupling the data acquisition circuit and the positive electrode of the respective piezoelectric patch, each second wire electrically coupling the data acquisition circuit and the negative electrode of the respective piezoelectric patch, the data acquisition circuit configured to detect a current associated with the second piezoelectric patch, and convert the current associated with the second piezoelectric patch into a voltage; a plurality of switches configured to selectively couple each piezoelectric patch to one of the voltage generation circuit and the data acquisition circuit at a time; and a processor configured to determine the structural health of the compression connector based on a determined ratio at each of the plurality of frequencies, determined at two different times, wherein the ratio is determined from output AC voltage to the first piezoelectric patch and the voltage converted from the current associated with the second piezoelectric patch, at each of the plurality of frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification