Situation: The
old Playford Power Station at Port Augusta, South
Australia operates as a peak demand supplier of
electricity. It features some dated monitoring technology
which is being upgraded with UNIMETER XQLs. One
such meter is placed on the turbine of each generator unit
to monitor its speed. The turbines run at 3000 rpm which
is well within the UNIMETER XQL's maximum
displayable value of +/-19999. The speed measurement is
taken from a sensor located inside the exciter (a separate
generator used to excite fields in the coils of the main
generator so as to initiate power generation). The backlit
LCD UNIMETER XQLs replace older LED panel meters
which had become unreliable.
Benefits: Accurate monitoring of the turbine
speed can be achieved to help ensure optimal control of
power generation. Setpoints within the UNIMETER XQL
can be configured to sound alarms if the turbine speed
exceeds a minimum or maximum range, or send a control
signal back to the turbine to maintain the desired speed.
The UNIMETER XQL is very versatile. In measuring
the rpm of a steam turbine it is using only one of its
250-plus functions! In fact the measurement could be
easily calibrated into any desired units, scale or
profile.
