Apparatus and method for the measurement and monitoring of electrical power generation and transmission

• US 6,771,058 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2002
• Issued: 08/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genscape Intangible Holding, Inc. (Daily Mail & General Trust Plc)
• Original Assignee: Genscape, Inc. (Verisk Analytics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hill, John Carroll, Lapinksi, Sterling
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Vinh P.
• Application Number:
  US10/300,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20030098683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 324/117.R, 324/117.H, 324/126, 324/127, 324/142, 702/57, 702/60, 702/62, 340/660, 340/870.02, 340/870.01, 340/870.03
• US Class Current: 324/117.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/142 Arrangements for simultaneous measurements of several parameters employing techniques covered by groups G01R15/14 - G01R15/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique

Abstract

An apparatus and method allows for a determination of the amount and direction of electric power flowing over a particular high-voltage electric power transmission line without proximate access to said transmission line, and thus can be used to provide a determination of the amount of electric power being produced by any particular electric power generation plant connected to an electric power transmission grid.

Claims

1. An apparatus for remotely measuring electric potential and magnetic flux density associated with an electric power transmission line, comprising:

a first sensor for outputting a voltage proportional to a net electric potential associated with said transmission line;

a second sensor responsive to a first vector component of a magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line;

a third sensor responsive to a second vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line;

respective amplification and filtration circuits and an analog-to-digital convertor for filtering and converting each of the output voltages associated with each sensor into representative digital data;

a memory element for storing said representative digital data; and

a transceiver for transmitting said representative digital data from said memory element to a central processing facility;

wherein said first, second, and third sensors are located remote from said electric power transmission line and stored in a first substantially weatherproof housing, and wherein said transceiver is also located remote from said electric power transmission line but is stored in a second substantially weatherproof housing; and

wherein said memory element, said respective amplification and filtration circuits, and said analog-to-digital convertor are also located in one of the substantially weatherproof housings.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, and further comprising a battery for powering the sensors of the apparatus, said battery being stored in said second weatherproof housing.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein said battery is continuously recharged by a solar panel array.

4. A method for monitoring the electric power transmission through at least one electric power transmission line having conductors in a particular physical arrangement and communicating electric power transmission information, comprising the steps of:

(a) measuring the electric potential, the electrical potential having a phase, and at least one vector component of the magnetic flux density, the magnetic flux density also having a phase, associated with said transmission line to generate a data set by;

(i) a first sensor for outputting a voltage proportional to the electric potential associated with said transmission line,

(ii) a second sensor responsive to a first vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line, and

(iii) a third sensor responsive to a second vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line, wherein the outputted voltage associated with each sensor is passed through a respective amplification and filtration circuit to amplify the respective voltages and remove extraneous noise;

(b) transmitting said data set to a central processing facility;

(c) performing a computational analysis on said data set to determine the amount of current and the direction of current flowing through said transmission line, and then computing the power associated with said transmission line through the following sub-steps;

(i) correcting said data set to compensate for predictable errors relating to the geometry of the particular physical arrangement of the conductors of said transmission line,

(ii) correcting said data set to compensate for predictable errors relating to the sensors and their interaction with the respective amplification and filtration circuits,

(iii) calculating the complex coefficients relating the measured magnetic flux density to the current through the conductors of said transmission line as determined by the geometry of the particular physical arrangement of the conductors of said transmission line,

(iv) solving a set of linear algebraic equations relating the magnetic flux density to the current through the conductors of said transmission line,

(v) combining the phase of the measured electric potential with the phase of the measured magnetic flux density to determine the phase angle of the current through said transmission line with respect to a voltage on said transmission line,

(vi) calculating the power factor on said transmission line, and

(vii) determining the magnitude and direction of real and reactive power on said transmission line; and

(d) communicating said power transmission information to an end user.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 in which the transmission of said data set to the central processing facility is accomplished through a landline network.

6. A method as recited in claim 4 in which the transmission of said data set to the central processing facility is accomplished through a wireless network.

7. A method as recited in claim 4 in which the compiled power generation information associated with said transmission line is communicated to the end user through a global computer network.

8. A method as recited in claim 7 in which said global computer network is the Internet, and compiled power generation information being communicated and displayed through a conventional Internet browser.