SBIR-STTR Award

There is a demonstrated need to protect power lines from disruptions to the Earth's magnetic field which can induce currents in the electrical conductors of such communications systems and pipelines. These disruptions can be caused by high altitude detonation of nuclear weapons or by solar activity. These geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs) cause saturation of the transformers, resulting in increased heating, generation of harmonics, and reactive power demand, each of which can lead to problems with system operation and dramatically increased corrosion rates of metallic pipelines. During the Baseline program, Engineering Matters will develop protective system designs for transformers and transmission lines in conjunction with our commercial utility teammate. We will then demonstrate the success of these designs in tests using sub-scale systems. During the Optional Task, we will design an additional technique to protect rotating synchronous generators. Electric system infrastructure preservation and reliable delivery of high quality electric power will be aided by the development of GIC mitigation techniques.

STOP THE SATURATION!! That is the message from the entirety of the technical literature regarding solar magnetic disturbances (SMD) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP). These phenomena produce a quasi-DC current in the earth that enters the power transmission system via ground-induced currents (GIC). This current saturates power transformers and produces a host of undesirable results leading up to, and including, complete system collapse. During Phase I, Engineering Matters has advanced three innovative solutions to this vexing problem. Two of these solutions are based upon switch-mode power supply principles driving currents in the neutral lead, and the third solution consists of magnetic cancellation in the transformer core, i.e., instead of current cancellation, this is direct field cancellation. All solutions are focused on eliminating the magnetic saturation of the transformer. These solutions will be demonstrated on a 120 VAC single-phase basis during Phase I. The Phase II work effort will consist of extending the design, analysis, and testing of the Phase I work to a three-phase 14 kV system with autotransformers. The extension will increase the system operating voltage; test the solutions in the field, including the E3 environment; perform a manufacturing cost reduction analysis, and optimize the design of each of the solutions