System and method for transformer control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11087920-B2
Application number	US-201815941070-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2018
Priority date	Mar 30, 2018
Publication date	Aug 10, 2021
Grant date	Aug 10, 2021

Abstract

A method for controlling operation of transformer system includes receiving, by a controller unit, transformer data corresponding to a transformer. The transformer data includes a plurality of transformer input parameters and a plurality of transformer output parameters. The method further includes receiving, by a digital transformer unit, the plurality of transformer input parameters from the controller unit. The digital transformer unit is a real-time operational model of the transformer. The method also includes generating, by the digital transformer unit, a plurality of transformer output parameter estimates corresponding to the plurality of transformer output parameters. The method further includes controlling operation of the transformer, by the controller unit, based on at least one of the transformer data and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a controller unit, transformer data corresponding to a transformer, wherein the transformer data comprises a plurality of transformer input parameters and a plurality of transformer output parameters;
receiving, by a digital transformer unit, the plurality of transformer input parameters from the controller unit, wherein the digital transformer unit is a real-time operational model of the transformer;
generating, by the digital transformer unit, a plurality of transformer output parameter estimates corresponding to the plurality of transformer output parameters;
modifying, by the controller unit, one or more parameters of the transformer data; and
controlling operation of the transformer, by the controller unit, based on at least one of the transformer data and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transformer data further comprises environmental data, design data, operational data, historical data, inspection data related to the transformer, data from name plate information, a temperature, a leakage current, a partial discharge (PD), an energy usage, a current total harmonic distortion (THD), and a voltage total harmonic distortion (THD).

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein a first signal corresponding to the plurality of transformer input parameters is transmitted from the digital transformer unit to the controller unit via a cloud service and a second signal corresponding to the plurality of transformer input parameters is transmitted from the controller unit to the digital transformer unit via the cloud service.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of transformer input parameters comprises at least one of a first line voltage and a first line current, and wherein the plurality of transformer output parameters comprises at least one of a second line voltage and a second line current.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein controlling operation of the transformer comprises:
assessing health of the transformer based on the plurality of transformer input parameters and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates; and
operating the transformer based on the health assessment.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein controlling operation of the transformer further comprises selecting a replacement transformer for replacement based on the plurality of transformer input parameters, the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates, and historical transformer data using a machine learning technique.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising: regulating operation of at least one of:
a first electrical subsystem configured to provide the plurality of transformer input parameters to the controller unit; and
a second electrical subsystem configured to receive the plurality of transformer output parameters from the transformer.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein controlling operation of the transformer further comprises optimizing the operation of the transformer based on the plurality of transformer input parameters and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the optimizing the operation of the transformer further comprises controlling at least one of an insulation degradation, an over-heating, a tap position, an oil quality, and an oil level in the transformer.

10. A transformer system comprising:
a transformer configured to be coupled to a first electrical subsystem and a second electrical subsystem and configured to generate transformed electrical parameters characterized by transformer data, wherein the transformer data comprises a plurality of transformer input parameters and a plurality of transformer output parameters;
a digital transformer unit configured to be coupled to the transformer, wherein the digital transformer unit is a real-time operational model of the transformer, and wherein the digital transformer unit is configured to:
receive the plurality of transformer input parameters; and
generate transformer output parameter estimates corresponding to the plurality of transformer output parameters; and

a controller unit configured to be coupled to the digital transformer unit and wherein the controller unit is configured to:
modify one or more parameters of the transformer data; and
control operation of the transformer based on at least one of the transformer data and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates.

11. The transformer system of claim 10 , wherein a first signal corresponding to the plurality of transformer input parameters is transmitted from the digital transformer unit to the controller unit via a cloud service and a second signal corresponding to the plurality of transformer input parameters is transmitted from the controller unit to the digital transformer unit via the cloud service.

12. The transformer system of claim 10 , wherein the transformer data further comprises environmental data, design data, operational data, historical data, and inspection data corresponding to the transformer, data from name plate information, a temperature, a leakage current, and a partial discharge (PD), an energy usage, a current total harmonic distortion (THD), and a voltage total harmonic distortion (THD).

13. The transformer system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of transformer input parameters comprises at least one of a first line voltage and a first line current, and wherein the plurality of transformer output parameters comprises at least one of a second line voltage and a second line current.

14. The transformer system of claim 13 , wherein the controller unit is further configured to:
assess health of the transformer based on the plurality of transformer input parameters and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates; and
operate the transformer based on the health assessment.

15. The transformer system of claim 14 , wherein the controller unit is configured to control operation of the transformer by selecting a replacement transformer for replacement based on the plurality of transformer input parameters, the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates, and historical transformer data using a machine learning technique.

16. The transformer system of claim 14 , wherein the controller unit is further configured to regulate operation of at least one of:
the first electrical subsystem configured to provide the plurality of transformer input parameters to the controller unit; and
the second electrical subsystem configured to receive the plurality of transformer output parameters from the transformer.

17. The transformer system of claim 13 , wherein the controller unit is configured to optimize the operation of the transformer based on the plurality of transformer input parameters and the plurality of transformer output parameter estimates.

18. The transformer system of claim 17 , wherein the controller unit is configured to optimize the operation of the transformer by controlling at least one of an insulation degradation, an over-heating, a tap position, an oil quality, and an oil level in the transformer.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions to enable at least one processor to:
receive, by a controller unit, transformer data corresponding to a transformer, wherein the transformer data comprises a plurality of transformer input parameters and a plurality of transformer output parameters;
receive, by a digital transformer unit, a plurality of t

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Neti Prabhakar
• Younsi Karim
• Aravind Deepak

Classifications

• G01R31/62 Primary

  Testing of transformers · CPC title

• H01F27/42 Primary

  Circuits specially adapted for the purpose of modifying, or compensating for, electric characteristics of transformers, reactors, or choke coils (circuits for controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, for the purpose of obtaining a desired output H02P13/00; impedance networks H03H) · CPC title

• H01F27/12

  Oil cooling · CPC title

• G01R19/2513

  Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging · CPC title