HydroCord
Data flow in hydropower - Insights for change
What is Hydrocord?
HydroCord is a flexible edge system that safeguards hydropower's cybersecurity requirements and plant variation in a changing power system. HydroCord provides the customer's organization with a completely new foundation for insights that builds on, augments and expands their existing platform for data and analyses. This is achieved by giving power plant expertise access to qualitatively better data and local analysis capacity at plants.
How does Hydrocord work?
- The users' definition of what the need is.
- Sufficiently accurate collection – processing and availability.
- Change the need when it is valuable.
- Different process system levels.
- Directly from existing sensors.
- Adding new sensors.
1. Safe Zone
- SCADA.
- Control systems and subsystems.
- The control system's sensors.
2. Edge computing zone
- Engage and interact with the customer's general and specific power plant subject matter expertise.
- Collaborate with 3rd party subject matter expertise.
- Draw on FDB's own mechanical, hydrodynamics and turbine subject matter expertise.
Realtime Hydraulic Efficiency Measurement
FDB offers continuous efficiency measurements at hydropower plants, RT Eta. Most power plants usually have a warranty measurement after start-up, but then it can take years before the efficiency is measured again. Having a real-time measurement of efficiency is beneficial for several reasons (Ruud, 2017):
- The measurement provides input for optimal replacement of turbine components
- Production optimization
- Pricing of power products
- Grading of optimal power plant operation
It is especially for point 3, pricing of power products, that access to instantaneous data is essential. The other points require high accuracy and comparable measurements over time, which are also obtained by a continuous efficiency measurement.
FDB delivers systems for continuous efficiency and water flow measurements based on differential pressure method and direct acoustic measurement method. Both methods are calibrated with a conventional thermodynamic efficiency measurement. FDB's system also informs whether sensor-data is of such quality that composite efficiency will be approved in accordance with standards for efficiency measurements.
FDB assists with instrumentation, cabling, calibration and maintenance of systems and sensors, and facilitates data and results for transport to the operations center or desired destination, using several standard protocols and solutions
Reference:
Einar Ruud, Master's thesis NTNU 2017: Decision support with continuous efficiency measurement in hydropower plants.
Impact Monitor
The rock impact monitor uses many of the same principles and sensor technology behind the cavitation monitoring, but with a focus on detecting impacts between objects and surfaces inside the turbine. The impact monitor reports statistics, including the number of hits and the strength of the hits.
Real Time Cavitation Detection
The cavitation monitor uses standard sensors for measuring high-frequency vibration. The sensors are mounted on the dry side of the machine being monitored. A NI cRIO unit reads, processes and analyzes data continuously and indicates the power level of cavitation in near real time (<1min). The product provides an indication of the presence of cavitation, and a relative intensity of this. The instrument and methodology were developed as part of the PhD work of FDB's Jarle Vikør Ekanger in 2016.
