Fault Anticipation
Continuous, High-Fidelity Waveform Monitoring
Automatic Event Classification and Diagnostics
Connects to Existing PTs and CTs
One Device Monitors an Entire Feeder
Alerts Delivered Immediately
Overview
Electric distribution circuits consists of both passive and active components. These include wires, switches, capacitor banks, transformers, voltage regulators, clamps, insulators, and fuses. Most of these components provide decades of trouble-free service. Their service life, however, is not infinite. Many component failures proceed from healthy, to incipient failure, to complete failure over the course of days or weeks. These failures can introduce intermittent quality of service problems that may occur weeks or months apart, making it difficult for responding crews to diagnose root cause.
As these failures occur they produce distinct electrical signatures that are present in the voltage and current waveforms measured at the substation. These signatures are often invisible to conventional monitoring equipment, making that equipment unable to provide any advance warning to utilities. Distribution Fault Anticipation technology automatically detects many common equipment failures, enabling utilities to fix the underlying cause before it results in a sustained outage or hazard.
How It Works
The electrical signatures created by failing or mis-operating power system components are often very small - often smaller than normal system load variations. DFA units are installed at the substation and connect directly to existing CTs and PTs. Using algorithms developed over decades, they monitor for the current and voltage signatures associated with the early stages of equipment failure. These algorithms run directly on the DFA units in the substation. When a unit identifies a problem or generates a report, it transmits that information to a centralized portal that provides both push and pull visibility to the utility or industrial user, enabling them to quickly react and repair the problem.
What Is Required
DFA uses infrastructure already present inside the substation. DFA units are 2U, 19 inch rack-mount devices which connect to standard CT and PT circuits used by other substation equipment. Each DFA unit monitors a three phase feeder.
DFA units are supplied by 12-120 Vdc, time synchronize to IRIG-B or NTP, and use internet connectivity to establish a secure connection to the centralized portal.
DFA, like most advanced monitoring systems, are most valuable when you deploy them at a scale that enables broad system visibility. Contact us for more information or a quote. We are happy to provide a demonstration or work with you to develop a deployment plan or pilot project that scales from tens to thousands of units.