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Power Series
AC Machines–Power Series Part 4
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sat, 07/23/2011 - 13:13In this part of the series I’m going to cover the basics of AC machinery. More specifically I’m going to focus on synchronous machines, both in motor and generation aspects. Synchronous generation is important since that is the production method used by most major power plants, from steam to hydro. Why it’s used with be made more apparent at the end.
In the Midst of a Heat Wave
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Wed, 07/20/2011 - 18:08So the heat is climbing throughout most of the country and heat like cold is detrimental on most things. I stumbled across a nice article that quickly lays out some of the issues that causes problems in the power grid when it gets hot out. I have decided to permanently move the power series articles to the weekend. This should make it easier to push them out since the amount of time it takes to write one section.
Though it appears that if you’re in Texas, this can work to your advantage in the short term, go buy a side of beef. Expect the prices to go back up, if not climb higher due to the end effects of having to thin the herds.
Introduction to AC and Power: Power Series Part 3
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Sat, 07/16/2011 - 15:40Today I’m going to cover the basics of AC circuits, how they differ from DC circuits which I covered previously. Again there’s going to be a bunch of math, please don’t get hung up on details. If you’re confused by something roll forward and see if there’s something that helps clear it up. If not, ask a question. The math is merely a tool to help explain what’s going on, don’t get lost in it.
A side note from as I wrote this, I forgot how complicated a lot of this stuff is. Seriously, most of the stuff on this page I don’t even give a second though and trying to remember how to explain it isn’t easy. I have a heavy math background and it’s simple for me, though I know it won’t be for everyone. I have no doubt someone’s going to get confused, seriously ask questions, please.
Today’s Power Series Issue Delayed to Saturday
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Wed, 07/13/2011 - 18:13For some reason WLW and my blog are not cooperating at the moment. The previous post was actually hand written, I know who want’s to hand write HTML anymore. So I’m going to spend today straightening it out, and then get back to writing up part 3 which will be an intro to AC and the basics of power.
Basic Electrical and Circuit Theory–Power System Part 2
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Wed, 07/06/2011 - 06:00So in the second entry of the Power Series, before digging into the details of generation, transmission and distribution, there is some basic circuit theory that needs to be covered. This week I’m going to cover DC basics and next week my goal is to cover AC circuits and power fundamentals. Without this information many different things won’t really make sense so here’s a quick primer on the fundamentals. This is like a layered cake, once you get higher up you no longer care, but the stuff you do see requires an understanding of this first. For some this isn’t necessary, for others who have absolutely no clue this can be handy. I’m not going to roll back all the way to the basic physics principals and electron charge. I’m already pushing limits here on the blog, I’m not even sure currently how this fits with my theme. Frankly I don’t care cause this is more fun to write about than how fearless leader put his head up another orifice.
Some of this will be a very basic review and obvious to some. My original goal was to try and avoid using math because I know it will scare some away. If for some reason you lost in the math, move forward, it may become more visible later on, or ask a question where you’re lost in the comments or contact me.
How Does the Power System Work? Part 1
Submitted by Barron Barnett on Wed, 06/29/2011 - 17:42I’ve often thought about creating a multipart series regarding the dangers and truth behind “Green” technology. Laziness has been winning on the front of me not doing it. When I started this post Alan had just posted something about FERC changing the allowable deviation in frequency of the power grid. That was then followed by MRS over at RNS posting something regarding Germany decommissioning a bunch of their nuke plants.
So for those who know me personally, you’ll have an idea of how much I really know about all this. Seriously I’m not going to go into full detail on everything I know about all this stuff. For those who don’t know me, my job entails me knowing lots about the power system and how it works. It’s funny really, I’m a EE code monkey, who knows power systems, digital signal processing, and embedded systems. For exact details on what I do or where I work, sorry, see the disclaimer. Suffice it to say I know lots about transmission, distribution, industrial installations, and power protection and operation. Teaching is selling, and what I hope to do here is provide a solid description and lesson in how the power system works. Describing what is actually going on so when your legislator runs his mouth off you’ll know it.
How am I going to do it. I’m going to write a multi-part series covering the power system, how it works, and then I will discuss how different proposals and political pushes end up affecting it. I will also answer any questions that come in, either in the comments directly or in a post if I feel it’s significant. So in todays installment I’m going to cover at a very high level an overview of the power system, what different parts do, and how they relate.
