This document discusses GE Energy's HydroXTM expert system for online monitoring of hydro-generators. Key points:
1. HydroXTM was developed over 5 years with New York Power Authority to interpret data from complex sensors using expert knowledge in rules.
2. It relies on available affordable online monitors for critical components and expertise documenting diagnostic rules.
3. The system runs on the commercial System 1 software, which interfaces with sensors and uses a rule engine and tools to develop custom interfaces and visualize data.
4. An initial prototype was evaluated successfully on two 60MVA generators at NYPA's St. Lawrence Power Project.
The use of LNG is a proven, reliable, and safe process, and natural gas is quickly becoming the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel as it emerges as the environmentally preferred fuel of choice. It is for this reason that LNG facilities are put under more pressure than ever to meet the world’s natural gas demand. Keeping your plants running at an efficient pace is vital to production and condition monitoring plays a critical part in this process. Condition monitoring provides a proactive approach so that maintenance can be planned, eliminating unscheduled outages and optimizing machine performance. In addition, condition monitoring helps to avoid breakdowns with subsequent secondary damage and loss of production revenue meaning that today’s LNG facilities simply can’t afford to not have a reliable condition monitoring solution.
The technology and thermal efficiencies of the coal-fired
cycle have improved dramatically, and the basic idea
of converting the stored energy of coal into electricity
accounts for more than 40% of the world’s power.
Thermoelectric generators convert heat directly into electricity using a fuel source for heat, a hermetically sealed thermopile, and cooling fins. These generators are a positive and cost effective solution for remote power requirements, having operational and cost benefits over batteries and solar sources for many applications.
The use of LNG is a proven, reliable, and safe process, and natural gas is quickly becoming the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel as it emerges as the environmentally preferred fuel of choice. It is for this reason that LNG facilities are put under more pressure than ever to meet the world’s natural gas demand. Keeping your plants running at an efficient pace is vital to production and condition monitoring plays a critical part in this process. Condition monitoring provides a proactive approach so that maintenance can be planned, eliminating unscheduled outages and optimizing machine performance. In addition, condition monitoring helps to avoid breakdowns with subsequent secondary damage and loss of production revenue meaning that today’s LNG facilities simply can’t afford to not have a reliable condition monitoring solution.
The technology and thermal efficiencies of the coal-fired
cycle have improved dramatically, and the basic idea
of converting the stored energy of coal into electricity
accounts for more than 40% of the world’s power.
Thermoelectric generators convert heat directly into electricity using a fuel source for heat, a hermetically sealed thermopile, and cooling fins. These generators are a positive and cost effective solution for remote power requirements, having operational and cost benefits over batteries and solar sources for many applications.
To identify key areas in the steam generation cycle, condensate recovery system and waste heat recovery process where cost-effective instrumentation solutions offer a tangible return on investment over the short term. The goal is to reduce heat rate, environmental impact, fuel and water consumption, water treatment and maintenance costs in commercial and heavy industries where steam generation is essential to the production processes.
BIST (Built-in-Self-Test) Features for Electronic Valve ActuatorsMead O'Brien, Inc.
The development and implementation of safety related devices in plant systems is crucial for dependable operation, not to mention peace of mind. Safety and safe operation were once only high priorities for installations that involve hazardous environments. Expensive certification testing was, and still is, paramount to meeting the hazards of such environments, but a new level of plant-wide integrity is emerging — that of Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and SIS. SIL is a safety rating that can be derived by analyzing a system to determine the risk of a failure occurring and the severity of its consequences. Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) are systems containing instrumentation or controls installed for the purpose of preventing or mitigating a failure either by emergency shut down (ESD) or diverting the hazard. New or replacement equipment must have the ability to be introduced into plant systems without jeopardizing either the SIL of the operation or negatively impacting the SIS.
Hydraulic power units (HPU’s) complement Rotork's extensive offering of rotary and linear actuators. The company has over three decades of experience in their manufacture, with units in service in a variety of plants and pipelines in locations spanning the globe. Although the HPU’s are primarily intended to power hydraulic actuators they are of course suitable for other applications as well. And, in order to provide a complete range of options to best meet the requirements of any application, RFS also has the Skilmatic range of self-contained electro-hydraulic actuators.
A side by side comparison of various aspects of owning and applying a predictive emissions monitoring system vs. a continuous emissions monitoring system. Excerpted from CMC Solutions at http://cmcpems.com/pems-vs-cems/
Building owners have more questions and requests on how to integrate renewable power into their buildings. And as the Smart Grid evolves, integration of renewable energy sources is increasing. Possible renewable power technologies include solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. As the technologies that support increasing use of renewable energy mature, the codes and standards that define their use, interconnection, and interoperability with the grid must keep pace with them. Engineers involved with integrating renewable power into buildings must be aware of the applicable energy codes and standards and how to properly implement them into the building design. They must also evaluate the design objectives, materials, systems, and construction from all perspectives. It’s critical for designers to assess the design for cost, quality of life, expansion capabilities, efficiencies, impact on environment, creativity, and productivity.
11 Things to Know When Owning and Operating a Standby GeneratorJessicaSharpee
Purchasing a standby generator system can be a major undertaking. Generac Industrial Power has outlined the top 11 considerations to make for:
• Sizing
• Owning
• Operating
a standby generator application. Sizing, specifying and installing a standby generator solution should not be taken lightly.
A quick reference guide highlighting the 2014 changes in the National Electrical Code and the associated impact on engineers, contractors, and inspectors.
الطريق لتقديم خدمات بنكية مستدامة عن طريق التكنولوجيا الخضراء أصبح ممكنا بما يضمن رفع كفاءة المبانى القائمة بنسبة 20%-30% حتى 50% فى بغض المبانى
The road to provide green banking is GREEN
Cooling Strategies for Efficiency – Techniques that Reduces YourEnergy Bill by 20-30% up to 50%
To identify key areas in the steam generation cycle, condensate recovery system and waste heat recovery process where cost-effective instrumentation solutions offer a tangible return on investment over the short term. The goal is to reduce heat rate, environmental impact, fuel and water consumption, water treatment and maintenance costs in commercial and heavy industries where steam generation is essential to the production processes.
BIST (Built-in-Self-Test) Features for Electronic Valve ActuatorsMead O'Brien, Inc.
The development and implementation of safety related devices in plant systems is crucial for dependable operation, not to mention peace of mind. Safety and safe operation were once only high priorities for installations that involve hazardous environments. Expensive certification testing was, and still is, paramount to meeting the hazards of such environments, but a new level of plant-wide integrity is emerging — that of Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and SIS. SIL is a safety rating that can be derived by analyzing a system to determine the risk of a failure occurring and the severity of its consequences. Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) are systems containing instrumentation or controls installed for the purpose of preventing or mitigating a failure either by emergency shut down (ESD) or diverting the hazard. New or replacement equipment must have the ability to be introduced into plant systems without jeopardizing either the SIL of the operation or negatively impacting the SIS.
Hydraulic power units (HPU’s) complement Rotork's extensive offering of rotary and linear actuators. The company has over three decades of experience in their manufacture, with units in service in a variety of plants and pipelines in locations spanning the globe. Although the HPU’s are primarily intended to power hydraulic actuators they are of course suitable for other applications as well. And, in order to provide a complete range of options to best meet the requirements of any application, RFS also has the Skilmatic range of self-contained electro-hydraulic actuators.
A side by side comparison of various aspects of owning and applying a predictive emissions monitoring system vs. a continuous emissions monitoring system. Excerpted from CMC Solutions at http://cmcpems.com/pems-vs-cems/
Building owners have more questions and requests on how to integrate renewable power into their buildings. And as the Smart Grid evolves, integration of renewable energy sources is increasing. Possible renewable power technologies include solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. As the technologies that support increasing use of renewable energy mature, the codes and standards that define their use, interconnection, and interoperability with the grid must keep pace with them. Engineers involved with integrating renewable power into buildings must be aware of the applicable energy codes and standards and how to properly implement them into the building design. They must also evaluate the design objectives, materials, systems, and construction from all perspectives. It’s critical for designers to assess the design for cost, quality of life, expansion capabilities, efficiencies, impact on environment, creativity, and productivity.
11 Things to Know When Owning and Operating a Standby GeneratorJessicaSharpee
Purchasing a standby generator system can be a major undertaking. Generac Industrial Power has outlined the top 11 considerations to make for:
• Sizing
• Owning
• Operating
a standby generator application. Sizing, specifying and installing a standby generator solution should not be taken lightly.
A quick reference guide highlighting the 2014 changes in the National Electrical Code and the associated impact on engineers, contractors, and inspectors.
الطريق لتقديم خدمات بنكية مستدامة عن طريق التكنولوجيا الخضراء أصبح ممكنا بما يضمن رفع كفاءة المبانى القائمة بنسبة 20%-30% حتى 50% فى بغض المبانى
The road to provide green banking is GREEN
Cooling Strategies for Efficiency – Techniques that Reduces YourEnergy Bill by 20-30% up to 50%
For the full video of this presentation, please visit: https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2023/09/open-standards-unleash-hardware-acceleration-for-embedded-vision-a-presentation-from-the-khronos-group/
Neil Trevett, President of the Khronos Group and Vice President of Developer Ecosystems at NVIDIA, presents the “Open Standards Unleash Hardware Acceleration for Embedded Vision” tutorial at the May 2023 Embedded Vision Summit.
Offloading visual processing to a hardware accelerator has many advantages for embedded vision systems. Decoupling hardware and software removes barriers to innovation and shortens time to market. Using hardware acceleration, embedded vision system manufacturers can integrate and deploy new components more easily, provide cross-generation reusability and facilitate field upgradability. Embedded system hardware acceleration is made possible by open standards for acceleration and interfacing, which reduce costs and lower the barriers to advanced techniques such as inferencing and vision acceleration.
In this presentation, Trevett explains how hardware accelerators can help offload vision processing and inferencing to speed development. He gives an overview of the Khronos Group family of open standards for programming and deploying accelerated inferencing and embedded vision and shares the latest progress from the Kamaros API Working Group, which is dedicated to the development of an open-standard camera system API.
NetSpi Whitepaper: Hardening Critical Systems At Electrical UtilitiesCoreTrace Corporation
Whitepaper Abstract
Securing our nation's critical power infrastructure has never been more important. Utilities systems are vulnerable to cyber threats, which can be malicious attacks from hackers or terrorists, as well as unintentional damage done by employees.
In response, industry regulators have implemented a number of regulations and standards to address these weaknesses and ensure the continued safe and reliable generation of electricity.
This NetSpi whitepaper discusses the options — including application whitelisting — that are available to harden critical systems and meet key regulatory requirements. In particular, the paper identifies options for addressing NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection standards CIP-002 through CIP-009.
Case study of dcs upgrade how to reduce stress during executionJohn Kingsley
iFluids Engineering ICS / DCS / SCADA Engineering Design, Procurement, Integration, Testing, Commissioning & Troubleshooting Services
Article Source: This guest blog post was written by Sunny R. Desai, an engineer in the DCS/PLC/SCADA department at Reliance Industries Ltd. A version of this article originally was published at InTech magazine.
Overcome Hardware And Software Challenges - Medical Device Case StudyICS
In this webinar presented with leading System-on-Module designer and ICS partner Variscite, we will present a real example of a medical device featuring the DART-MX8M-PLUS, i.MX8 Plus-based System on Module. Walking through this case study will allow us to showcase specific challenges that characterize the medical field as well as common software challenges.
As a webinar attendee, you will:
Gain tools that will help you choose the hardware that best suits your project needs.
Receive useful software tips that will help you get your project off the ground.
Asset Utilization Metrics Propel a Revival in Safety SolutionsARC Advisory Group
Asset Utilization Metrics Propel a Revival in Safety Solutions
Health and safety in the workplace has not always been a primary consideration
in manufacturing environments. However, there is a renewed
interest in safety emanating from Europe, highlighted by the European
Norm standard EN 954-1, which is garnering interest
in Japan and North America. Safety
technology has progressed considerably since the
first emergency stop relay appeared on the market,
and the future will bring new developments
to this technology. Improvement in the implementation
of current safety standards is mutually
beneficial for the protection of both man and machine
with the reduction of workplace accidents, lost output, damage to
machinery, and insurance premiums while resulting in an increase in Overall
Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). Manufacturers are currently reevaluating
the safety aspects of their machines and devices so as to provide
the safest possible workplace environment.
A new generation of safety solutions have
emerged that are more effective in
preventing accidents, less costly to
implement, more easily to adapt, more
reliable than existing hard wired systems,
and results in an increase in Overall
Equipment Effectiveness.
Plan with confidence: Route to a successful Do178c multicore certificationMassimo Talia
The modern approach Multi-Processor in the civil and military Embedded equipments certification. The Processor assessment is conduct by Rockwell Collins Inc., the operating system selection is conducted by Windriver Inc.
In 2005, the Bently Nevada team entered a long term service agreement (sometimes known as Supporting Services Agreement, or SSA) with a petrochemical plant in India. Scope of work included monthly visits for machinery
diagnostics and regular optimization of data collected in the machinery management software – which included both Data Manager* 2000 & System 1* installations. The events described in this article took place on a compressor unit in one of the main plants at the facility.
Keyphasor is a measuring important parameter for operation and maintenance. This document discusses where the key phasors are to be installed there are locations like the driver area, input/output gear area and location of the load key phasors locations these key phasors are mainly redundant. The key phasor and the notch have to be located and documented accurately for easy and effective maintenance. It discusses the relations of absolute phase and phase lag concepts.
Keyphasors are used mainly for the operator and the machine to identify operational ambiguities. Key phase as the word indicates Key(Important) Phase(1 Cycle) is a Voltage signal generated per rotation of the rotating body. This analysis can be done using various plots and they play a key role in identifying issues in the plant machinery the operator can use this details to distinguish b/w critical and not so critical issues and can also help in saving the plant asset from harm.
Performance monitoring is critical for those seeking to get the most from their machinery and processes. This article talks about how the financial benefits of performance monitoring are consistent and compelling.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
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The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
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Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
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Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Dev Dives: Train smarter, not harder – active learning and UiPath LLMs for do...UiPathCommunity
💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
Get an exclusive demo of the new family of UiPath LLMs – GenAI models specialized for processing different types of documents and messages
This is a hands-on session specifically designed for automation developers and AI enthusiasts seeking to enhance their knowledge in leveraging the latest intelligent document processing capabilities offered by UiPath.
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👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
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Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
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This talk is aimed at encouraging a more independent approach to using PHP frameworks, moving towards a more flexible and future-proof approach to PHP development.
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
How world-class product teams are winning in the AI era by CEO and Founder, P...
Experience with Hydro Generator Expert Systems
1. GE Energy
Experience with
Hydro Generator
Expert Systems
As presented at the Iris Rotating Machine Conference
June 2008, Long Beach, CA
Peter Lewis, Iris
John Grant, GE Energy
J. Evens, NYPA
3. Experience with Hydro Generator Expert Systems
Current technological advances in condition monitoring are monitors suitable for this hydro-generator monitoring [1]. In the case
employing an increasing number of complex sensors and of partial discharge monitoring, where no solution existed, a
advanced monitors to diagnose the operating status and condition cooperative R&D effort between NYPA and Iris Power led to the
of hydro generators and turbines. Advanced systems routinely development of a cost effective on-line PD monitor called
employed may include bearing vibration, air gap, partial discharge, HydroTrac™ [2].
and flux monitoring. Proper interpretation of this often complex
Knowledge Base
information can lower operating and maintenance expenses, in
One of the first diagnostic expert systems for on-line turbo-generator
addition to reducing unscheduled outages and catastrophic
monitoring was developed in the 1980s by EPRI and was called
failures. However, the volume of available data from these
GEMS [3]. Although a later attempt to create a commercial system
monitors, and the extensive interpretation necessary to evaluate
based on this research prototype failed, many of the machine
the complex waveforms and spectrums, can overwhelm plant
behavior models developed for GEMS were later very relevant to
personnel and resources. Sophisticated software and algorithms
HydroX. In addition, this system clearly demonstrated the need for
are often necessary to correlate and interpret this data to establish
some form of probabilistic reasoning as complex machine monitoring
the overall generator and drive train condition.
is never fully deterministic. The technical success of GEMS spawned
HydroX™ (for Hydro Expert) is a knowledge-based expert system follow on work by EPRI and others in the area of hydro generator
program for on-line monitoring of hydro-generators. Working with monitoring [4].
the New York Power Authority, the system was developed over five
Recognizing the loss of machines expertise in the hydro industry,
years by Iris Power and GE's Bently Nevada* team. After a further
in the late 1990s NYPA initiated a research project to interview
two years of prototype evaluation at NYPA’s St. Lawrence Power
generator design, operations, and maintenance personnel to
Project on two 60 MVA generators, the validated system is now
document a diagnostic rule set for an expert system like HydroX.
commercially available.
Although at the time, suitable monitors and sensors were still under
The successful development of HydroX was predicated by several key development, and no suitable software platform existed, it was felt
factors, including: that documenting the rules was a critical first step. This was a multi-
1. Available and cost effective on-line monitors for critical year effort using experts from OEMs, industry, academia, and utility
components of the turbine and generator. engineering and operations staff. The result of this project was the
2. Expertise in the form of hydro-generator design, operation, knowledge base that was used later to create HydroX.
and maintenance knowledge that could be codified into expert
system rules. Expert System Tools
3. A suitable commercial software platform or expert system shell. Since the 1980s, expert systems have been a topic of research
aimed at automating monitoring and diagnostics for complex
4. A site where the system could be deployed and evaluated.
industrial equipment. Early attempts involved the use of specialized
Each of these factors is discussed below in greater detail. computer hardware and software which were not robust or ready
for industrial applications. With the growth in popularity and
On-line Monitors
capabilities of desktop PCs, it became possible to develop
As part of an upgrade and life extension project of their hydraulic
distributed client-server applications. During the 1990s a prototype
fleet which began in the late 1990s, NYPA identified several key
system called ACMS (Advance Condition Monitoring System) was
technologies necessary to more completely monitor a large hydraulic
fielded on such a platform but proved too unreliable, slow, and
turbine and generator. In some cases, although on-line monitors were
difficult to configure to be commercially viable. Other vendors
available, their cost or complexity made them prohibitive for inclusion
developed expert system shell programs [5] however, these systems
into an expert-based monitoring system like HydroX. As well as the
suffered from a lack of standard interfaces to sensing and
normal process data, specialized monitors that were considered
monitoring systems. During this period vendors tended to create
critical to the expert system diagnostics include on-line air-gap,
bearing vibration, stator partial discharge and core temperature and islands of technology which were incapable of communicating
vibration. Over time, competition in the market place led to several with each other.
GE Energy | GER-4488 (07/08) 1
4. Only in the past few years have practical PC-based tools been HydroX Features
available for development and commercial deployment of expert
HydroX is a condition-based diagnostic system for hydro-turbine/
system based plant monitoring systems. System 1* is such a tool,
generators. The system is based on a commercial PC-based asset
and contains standard interfaces such as OPC clients/servers
management tool called System 1. System 1 is a distributed software
which allow it to communicate with external third party monitors
product based on a SQL Server database and contains components for
and sensors. In addition, it contains a rule based inference engine
data collection from remote systems via OPC, a production rule engine for
and provides tools for users to develop decision based logic.
processing user defined rules, and a design tool for developing and testing
System 1 also provides a number of analysis and visualization tools
rules and developing custom user interfaces. The rules are the basis for the
that enhance the rule engine by allowing end-users to view data
HydroX System and represent the knowledge base of the expert system.
(historical and current) and rule results in a variety of ways.
Individual rules were created to process input data into more useful relevant
data. Processed data is than fed through various analysis algorithms
Evaluation Site
embedded in rules again, or to provide decision support. Often multiple rules
An ideal time to install the sensors/monitors necessary to support
are created and grouped into “Rulepaks” that are meant to provide specific
a system like HydroX is during a plant refurbishment/upgrade. At
analysis functionality. In this manner, an expert system can be created that
the St. Lawrence Power Project, NYPA was undertaking a plant life
can encode expert knowledge into an automated analysis system.
extension project sequentially on 16 units and this project provided
the perfect platform for evaluating the HydroX rule-set. During Utilizing the knowledge base developed earlier with NYPA, a
each unit’s upgrade, additional sensors were installed to support modular set of HydroX Rulepaks were created in System 1.
the expert system and interfaces to the plant control and Encoding each major sensor group in its own Rulepak facilitated
monitoring systems were created. Using the acquisition portion of the customization of HydroX for the available machine sensor data
HydroX, data was collected from these systems over time on at different sites. If a particular monitor such as PD is not available,
several units, making it possible to identify machine specific then the rules dealing with those inputs can be easily removed,
behavior and characteristics. The generalized rule-set created leaving the rest of the system functional. Some Rulepaks
during the knowledge base development was then customized incorporate corroboration algorithms that can communicate with
through a “tuning” algorithm. These tuning rules were created to other Rulepaks in order to raise confidence in a diagnosis. In this
account for specific generator behaviors due to subtle differences manner HydroX offers a comprehensive system that can draw
in manufacture or external factors such as seasonal changes in upon multiple data paths to reinforce its diagnostic accuracy. The
ambient conditions. addition of more monitoring systems often will lead to a better
diagnosis.
Software Components
One particular challenge in any expert system is dealing with
uncertainty in the data analysis. System 1 has built-in mechanisms
HydroX RulePak System 1 Config HydroX Display
for indicating the severity of a problem. In HydroX this was
extended to utilize a Mycin like uncertainty scheme [6] to combine
System 1 Platform and Database facts from various sensor inputs into a diagnosis with a certainty
factor. As sensor readings vary further from expected values, or
multiple indications of a problem become apparent, the certainty
System 1 Data Acquisition
in the diagnosis of a fault condition increases.
Where possible, the prediction of “expected” value for sensors is
Bently 3500 made based on mathematical models of machine parameters that
are then tuned for the specific unit. These predicted values are
GCS Computer SCADA Computer HydroTrac Controller then compared to the actual measured values and deviations are
Figure 1. System 1 components analyzed by the rules to compute a diagnosis. For example, the
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5. predictions of thrust bearing pad temperatures are made based on be expected depending on the machine state. HydroX uses this
the thrust bearing oil temperature and the MW load of the information to set mode-specific thresholds for alarms making the
machine. This basic equation is then customized to account for system very sensitive to small variations in readings.
heating/cooling time constants of the machine with load, and to
The machine mode is also used in several instances to calculate
the actual readings obtained at full load for each sensor which
and alarm on the trend of sensor values. The trend of nominal air
vary due to sensor location and other physical properties.
gap, during field flashing for example, can indicate a specific type
of problem that trending at nominal machine load would not
detect.
Figure 2. Graph showing comparison of actual and predicted bearing vibration
based on unit load and bearing oil temperature
Figure 4. Trend plot of measured air-gap changes during a startup at NYPA
For many sensors, the alarm thresholds may be significantly
different depending on the mode of the machine. HydroX has rules
Current industry trends are to move to more automated plants,
to determine the machine mode and where necessary, different
with less on-site expertise and operations staff. As described
thresholds and even rules are executed dependent on this mode.
above, HydroX can calculate and trend key features and synthesize
The specific modes HydroX recognizes are: standstill, mechanical
summary indications from complex data sets from monitors such
runup/rundown, rated-speed de-energized field, field energized but
as vibration, air-gap, PD, etc. Using these intermediate indicators,
unsynchronized, synchronized unloaded, load transient and loaded
along with diagnostic rules, an expert system like HydroX can filter
thermally stable. An example of this behavior would be air gap
and focus attention to abnormal values, and provide diagnosis of
measurements, where significantly different nominal air gaps can
specific faults as well as possible remedies. In addition, trending of
such parameters over years can indicate long-term degradation
that may otherwise go undetected until damage limits are
breached.
NYPA Installation
As part of a plant modernization project, Unit 18 at the St.
Lawrence Power Project was removed from service to be
refurbished/up-rated. During this work, additional sensors and
monitors were installed to instrument the unit for HydroX. In
addition to the conventional unit monitoring connected to the
Figure 3. Depiction of expected air gap trend for different machine states
GE Energy | GER-4488 (07/08) 3
6. Figure 5. HydroX sensor set
plant control system, additional sensors and monitors were added is that since the units are coming off a major overhaul, the number
for partial discharge, bearing vibration, core vibration, back of core of faults has been minimal. In addition, many of the long-term
temperatures, and air-gap. trending rules for conditions such as partial discharge can take
As each of the 16 units in the plant are refurbished (a 10-year years to calculate and are just now providing useful values.
program), the identical sensor set is installed and connected to
HydroX. Once completed, all 16 units will be monitored.
A group of two dedicated PC computers run the HydroX
components; the data acquisition system, the SQL Server
Database, the Diagnostic Rule Engine and the User Interface.
These computers were installed on a separate LAN, and interfaced
to the other necessary plant systems (Generator Control System to
obtain conventional unit sensor data, HydroTrac for PD data, and a
Bently Nevada 3500 rack for air gap and vibration data). The
interfaces to external systems were accomplished using an OPC
Data Interface [7].
Experience to date:
Over the past several years, the prototype HydroX has been moni-
toring Unit 18 (and now several other units as they are refurbished
and instrumented). One difficulty with this approach to deployment
Figure 6. HydroX data interfaces
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7. One significant problem that only became apparent as additional The creation and testing of these rules was a significant and unan-
units were connected to HydroX related to the tuning of the rules. ticipated effort, but was clearly necessary if HydroX was to be a
The models and algorithms used to provide predicted sensor val- commercial success.
ues require substantial tuning for various constants, which can A similar problem was found with the setting of alarm limits for
only be done once the unit is in service. For the deployment of a measured values. There are a multitude of custom values that
successful commercial system, it is not practical for a Field Service must be set for HydroX to calculate malfunction certainties proper-
Engineer to be on-site waiting on a unit start-up, and for possibly ly. These values are usually known by plant personnel and used for
weeks after that to collect data for the various machine states basic alarming of critical parameters. There are still many values
needed to tune the rules. For this reason, a set of “auto-tuning” that may not be known by plant personnel and also, the sheer
rules were written. These rules track data during initial unit opera- multitude of values would make the collection of these values and
tion, and automatically calculate and enter the specific constants customization of the system extremely time consuming. In many
needed for the various predicted sensor values. The rules use linear cases these values can be based on given machine standards.
regression to determine the dependency of two independent vari- HydroX was built to address this issue by incorporating an auto-
ables on a given sensor input. This dependency is usually calculat- matic tuning system for alarm limits. For example, stator winding
ed during startup as the machine will see the greatest span of temperature limits are set according to winding insulation classes
measurements for a given input. (i.e., NEMA), such standards are used in HydroX to automatically
Figure 7. Partial sample logic of an auto-tuning rule
GE Energy | GER-4488 (07/08) 5
8. choose the proper limits based on machine construction parame- and experts alike by providing them with real-time, easy to
ters. HydroX also allows the end-user to set these values manually understand information. By providing automated data collection
and override the automatic values if required. and analysis, the system minimizes the vast volume of data that
would otherwise have to be collected and analyzed manually. This
A final lesson that can be taken from this experience concerns the
also leads to a greater wealth of data but without jeopardizing the
reliability of the system. In general, a hydro turbine and generator
speed and accuracy of analysis as can be the case when too much
is a true model of reliability with some units in continuing service
data is present. HydroX also reduces the number of annoying
after 50 years. Unfortunately the same cannot necessarily be said
“nuisance alarms” by providing a corresponding certainty with
for the components used to monitor them. It is far more likely that
each diagnosis. It is expected that an expert system like HydroX
a sensor, data acquisition system, computer or network will experi- can extend machine life, reduce forced outages, and reduce
ence a problem than a hydro generator will. Problems with some operation and maintenance expenses.
sensors failing and computer components have occurred since the
original installation of the system in 2005. Software and operating REFERENCES
system problems can also occur in any system relying heavily on 1. J.F. Lyles et al, “Using Diagnostic Technology for Identifying
computer systems and network interfaces. In particular, plant net- Generator Maintenance Needs”, Hydro Review, June 1993, p. 58.
work security has been a source of problems, as network security 2. B.A. Lloyd, S.R. Campbell, G.C. Stone, “Continuous On-line PD
becomes ever more stringent forcing frequent upgrades of soft- Monitoring of Generator Stator Windings”, IEEE Trans EC, Dec.
ware, hardware and protocols—all of which may require reconfigu- 1999, p. 1131.
ration of the various components in HydroX.
3. G.S. Klempner, A. Kornfeld, and B. Lloyd, “The generator expert
monitoring system (GEMS) experience with the GEMS prototype,”
Future Plans
EPRI Utility Motor and Generator Predictive Maintenance
Based on the successful deployment on two units at St. Lawrence,
Workshop, December 1991.
a commercial System 1 Rulepak for HydroX has been created. Over
time this system will be installed on all 16 units at St. Lawrence. It 4. A. Roehl and B. Lloyd, “A developing standard for integrating
is expected, that during future deployments at other sites, new hydroelectric monitoring systems” EPRI Motor and Generator
interfaces will be developed to sensors and monitors from other Conference, Orlando, Nov. 1995.
vendors. Standardized protocols like OPC make this a relatively 5. Nilsen, S., OECD Halden Reactor Project, Inst. for Energiteknikk;
simple effort. Obvious future extensions to the system would be to “Experiences made using the expert system shell G2, Tools for
include support for pump storage units which are often critical and Artificial Intelligence”, 1990, Proceedings of the 2nd International
highly stressed assets. IEEE Conference, 6-9 Nov 1990, page(s): 520-529
Conclusions 6. Rule Based Expert Systems: The MYCIN Experiments of the
Stanford Heuristic Programming Project, BG Buchanan and EH
The HydroX system is an advanced expert system that will help
Shortliffe, eds. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1984
utilities protect hydro turbine-generators while reducing the cost of
operation by transitioning from preventive to condition-based 7. OPC Foundation – www.opcfoundation.org
maintenance. The system combines advanced fault detection HydroX is a trademark of the New York Power Authority.
knowledge from multiple industry experts with modern data HydroTrac is a trademark of Iris Power Engineering, Inc.
* Bently Nevada and System 1 are trademarks of General Electric Company.
acquisition systems in order to empower maintenance technicians
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