Automated systems and methods for controlling localized load conditions to extend electrical distribution system component life

• US 8,718,833 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2011
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Digital Holdings LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: McMullin, Dale Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sivanesan, Sivalingam
• Application Number:
  US13/183,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20130018518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 700/282
• US Class Current: 700/292
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 3/05 with means for increasing reliability, e.g. redundancy arrangements for logic circuits H03K19/003
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/144 Demand-response operation of the power transmission or distribution network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/00 Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

Controlling localized load conditions to extend electrical distribution system component life includes forming a load-dependent time-to-failure estimate for at least one of the components, creating an operating load to be experienced by the at least one of the components, and generating an instruction that causes power to be diverted away from the at least one of the components when a required power through the at least one of the components exceeds the operating load.

Claims

1. A system for controlling localized load conditions to extend electrical distribution system component life, the system comprising:

an asset state collector that receives status information from one or more components of the electrical distribution system;

a failure predictor that forms a load-dependent time-to-failure estimate for at least one of the components based on the status information;

a load manager that creates an operating load to be experienced by the at least one of the components based on the load-dependent time-to-failure estimate;

a load flow analyzer that determines other components that effect an amount of load on the at least one of the components;

a demand manager that generates a switching instruction that causes at least some power to be diverted away from the at least one of the components to one of the other components when a required power of loads coupled to the at least one of the components exceeds the operating load;

wherein a first sensor coupled to the at least one of the components;

a second sensor coupled to the one of the other components; and

the status information is received from the first and second sensors and the switching instruction causes power to be diverted from the at least one of the components to the one of the other components.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the component health collector stores the status information in a database.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a demand response engine that requests that one or more loads supplied by the at least one of the components be shed to reduce the required power.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the load reduction request manager requests that one or more of the loads coupled by the at least one of the components be shed before the demand manager causes power to be diverted away from the at least one of the components.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the load reduction request system is part of the demand manager.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system coupled to the demand manager that measures the required power and that controls the manner in which power is distributed in the electrical distribution system based on the switching instruction generated by the demand manager.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the demand manager includes a load balancer that determines a connection configuration of the one or more components such that the required power does not exceed the operating load.

8. A method of controlling localized load conditions to extend electrical distribution system component life, the method comprising:

receiving at a computing device status information from one or more components of the electrical distribution system;

forming in the computing device a load-dependent time-to-failure estimate for at least one of the components;

creating an operating load to be experienced by the at least one of the components; and

generating an instruction that causes power to be diverted away from the at least one of the components when a required power through the at least one of the components exceeds the operating load;

wherein receiving status information from a first sensor coupled to the at least one of the components;

receiving status information from a second sensor coupled to a second component; and

the status information is received from the first and second sensors and the instruction causes power to be diverted from the at least one of the components to the second component.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

storing the status information in a database.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

requesting that one or more loads supplied by the at least one of the components be shed to reduce the required power.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein requesting that one or more loads supplied by the at least one of the components be shed to reduce the required power is performed before generating the instruction.