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Re: electrical question



On Fri, 30 Nov 2001, Raymond Rogoway wrote:

That big bump can be a big explosion. In the 60's a PGE operator was
working at a station with 3 generators.

Any idea of the generator power? If we look at 60Hz as being 120Hz
pulses, then a megawatt generator is actually sending out pulses of 8.3
kilojoules each. If the phase was totally backwards, the generator might
absorb more than an 8KJ pulse, but I don't think the energy would be way
outside the design maximum.

Speculation: I bet the initial pulse acted like a "coilgun" system, and
gave the rotor a huge whack of rotational inertia. The rotor then would
be spinning at the wrong frequency. Having the frequency be wrong is
about the same as having the rotor be entirely stilled: the rest of the
grid would see the generator as a short circuit and behave accordingly.


Technicians on utility systems must have interesting insurance issues. A
guy who was simply turning our building off at the main disconnect (13KV I
think) was hospitalized when something in the huge mechanical switch got
stuck, and the resulting arc caused the box to explode. The guard who had
unlocked the room for him was standing in the doorway and was thrown back
15ft by the blast of hot air.


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