ACTOM Power Transformers has developed, in partnership with a leading local IT company, an online condition monitoring system for its transformers in the field.
Initiated two years ago and launched at this year’s Enlit Africa energy and power exhibition in Cape Town in June, the system monitors any faults or irregularities in operating transformers the instant they occur to enable customers to take remedial action timeously to prevent or minimise damage.
“The system ensures that customers are kept constantly informed in real time about all key aspects of the condition of their transformers, including all the power-related factors that include voltage, current, load, power factor, harmonics and operating anomalies, as well as the temperatures of the winding and the oil, plus the ambient and hotspot temperatures,” said Wilma Muller, Power Transformers’ Sales Manager
“Our offer of condition monitoring equipment is combined with Power Transformers monitoring the transformers on behalf of the customer and included in the service level agreement is a yearly visit to the customer’s site. On alerts to possible problems we consult with the customer on a way forward to address the problem. The most important aspect about monitoring the transformers is to detect and address a problem as soon as possible.”
The service level agreement covers the provision by Power Transformers of a yearly standard maintenance service for a minimum period of three years.
“During this period we monitor the unit and report on operational anomalies, alarms and trips. As part of the service level agreement we make annual visits to the customer’s site to do basic maintenance, including sampling and testing of oil. A report is submitted to the customer annually on the loading and operation of the transformer in that year,” Wilma explained.
The division also undertakes to retrofit the condition monitoring system to earlier-acquired ACTOM power transformers where their owners and operators want to enjoy the benefits and advantages the monitoring system and service level agreement package offers. “At a later stage we’ll look at making the system available for use on non-ACTOM branded power transformers as well,” Wilma stated.
To enable real time condition monitoring, the system incorporates use of three key IT technologies:
- Internet of Things (IIoT), which gives the transformers a voice, so enabling them to communicate their health and status.
- Cloud computing, which involves putting the information that is collected into a convenient place to make it available to other systems.
- BI Stack, comprising graphic tools, reporting tools and alerting tools and also including a data exchange mechanism.
These technologies interface with the detection equipment already installed in the transformer, comprising protection equipment, alarms and trips and with various types of additional equipment attached or linked to the transformer to detect and communicate other key condition factors not already catered for within the transformer itself. These include a power analyser, an optional dissolved gas analyser and a cooler controller.
Power Transformers’ online monitoring system, which is unique in its field in terms of the scope and depth of its capabilities to immediately detect and transmit anomalies in transformers as soon as they arise, so enabling prompt action to be taken to remedy them, was tested and proven in two pilot projects conducted by the development team at two PV solar plant sites in the Free State in 2021.
At the launch of the online monitoring system in June at Enlit Africa, the system attracted a great deal of attention and interest among visitors to the ACTOM stand. Keen interest was also shown by numerous visitors who attended the five-day Electra Mining Africa 2022 exhibition at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in early-September.
“We have had many enquiries during and following these two shows and expect many owners and users of power transformers to adopt the condition monitoring package we are offering, which is unique in the industry in South Africa,” Wilma concluded.
