Power Station:

A power station (also referred to as a generating station, power plant,

powerhouse or generating plant) is an industrial facility for the generation of
electric power. At the center of nearly all power stations is a generator, a rotating
machine that converts mechanical power into electrical power by creating relative
motion between a magnetic field and a conductor.
AC systems used a wide range of frequencies depending on the type of load;
lighting load using higher frequencies, and traction systems and heavy motor load
systems preferring lower frequencies. The economics of central station
generation improved greatly when unified light and power systems, operating at a
common frequency, were developed. The same generating plant that fed large
industrial loads during the day, could feed commuter railway systems during rush
hour and then serve lighting load in the evening, thus improving the system load
factor and reducing the cost of electrical energy overall. Many exceptions existed,
generating stations were dedicated to power or light by the choice of frequency,
and rotating frequency changers and rotating converters were particularly
common to feed electric railway systems from the general lighting and power
network.
UET LHR Power Station:
UET LHR power station is an 11 KV power station that feeds only UET and its staff
colonies. In UET power station there are three natural gas engines and four diesel
engines. Two WAPDA feeders also feed UET LHR but only in emergency case.
In UET power station there is generation, distribution and utilization only and
there is no transmission. UET power station is a radial system.
Electrical components of power station:
Electrical components used in UET power station are,
Three natural gas engines
Four diesel engines.
Vacuum circuit breakers.
Air circuit breakers.
Step down transformer.
Step up transformer.
Auxiliary panel.
Introduction of Engine:
The generator set is designed for continuous operation using natural gas fuel and
comprises a reciprocating engine driving an alternator through a coupling. The
complete assembly is bolted onto a fabricated base frame. The genset assembly is
designed for reliability, low maintenance operation in standby and base load
applications.
The main component parts of the genset comprises the following:
Gas fuelled engine with turbocharged combustion air/exhaust gas system,
engine cooling system, lubricating oil system, engine monitoring and
control system and starting system.
Base frame with anti-vibration mounts
Engine-alternator coupling
Alternator
A free standing Generator Control Panel
Engine:
The Cummins QSK 60G engine is an industrial duty, spark ignited 16-cylinder and
V configuration engine having a cylinder displacement of 60 liters. An electronic
ignition system is included for improved fuel consumption, high reliability and low
maintenance.
Fuel System:
The genset engine fuel is pipeline natural gas which is admitted to the engine
through a series of valves which ensures that the gas is at the correct pressure. As
gas supply pressure vary from site to site, the gas train components required
depend on the available gas supply pressure.
A typical gas train for gas pressure up to 6 bar includes the components as shown
In figure on the next page.







Vacuum Circuit Breaker:
Vacuum circuit breakers are circuit breakers that are used to protect medium and
high voltage circuits from dangerous electrical situations. Like other types of
circuit breakers, they literally break the circuit so that energy cannot continue
flowing through it, thereby preventing fires, power surges, and other problems
which may emerge.
In a vacuum circuit breaker, two electrical contacts are enclosed in a vacuum. One
of the contacts is fixed and one is movable. When the circuit breaker detects a
dangerous situation, the movable contact pulls away from the fixed contact,
interrupting the current. Because the contacts are in a vacuum, arcing between
the contacts is suppressed, ensuring that the circuit remains open. As long as the
circuit is open, it will not be energized.
Construction of vacuum circuit breaker:
Generally Vacuum circuit breakers are constructed as

Air circuit breaker:
This type of circuit breakers, is those kind of circuit breaker which operates in air
at atmospheric pressure.
Working principle of air circuit Breaker:
The working principle of this breaker is rather different from those in any other
types of circuit breakers. The main aim of all kind of circuit breaker is to prevent
the reestablishment of arcing after current zero by creating a situation where in
the contact gap will withstand the system recovery voltage. The air circuit breaker
does the same but in different manner. For interrupting arc it creates an arc
voltage in excess of the supply voltage. Arc voltage is defined as the minimum
voltage required maintaining the arc. This circuit breaker increases the arc voltage
by mainly three different ways,
It may increase the arc voltage by cooling the arc plasma. As the temperature of
arc plasma is decreased, the mobility of the particle in arc plasma is reduced,
hence more voltage gradient is required to maintain the arc.
It may increase the arc voltage by lengthening the arc path. As the length of arc
path is increased, the resistance of the path is increased, and hence to maintain
the same arc current more voltage is required to be applied across the arc path.
That means arc voltage is increased.
Splitting up the arc into a number of series arcs also increases the arc voltage.

Transformer:
A transformer is an electrical device that transfers energy between two circuits
through electromagnetic induction. A transformer may be used as a safe and
efficient voltage converter to change the AC voltage at its input to a higher or
lower voltage at its output.
A transformer most commonly consists of two windings of wire that are wound
around a common core to provide tight electromagnetic coupling between the
windings. The core material is often a laminated iron core. The coil that receives
the electrical input energy is referred to as the primary winding, the output coil is
the secondary winding.
An alternating electric current flowing through the primary winding (coil) of a
transformer generates a varying electromagnetic field in its surroundings which
induces a varying magnetic flux in the core of the transformer. The varying
electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the secondary winding induces an
electromotive force in the secondary winding, which appears as a voltage across
the output terminals. If a load is connected across the secondary winding, a
current flows through the secondary winding drawing power from the primary
winding and its power source.
The transformers that used in UET power station are
Step Up & Step Down
The step up transformer is 2500 KVA and its steps up 440 volts of diesel generator
to 11 KV
The step down transformer steps down 11 KV of natural gas engine to 220 volts
for the auxiliary panel.






ETAP Relay Co-ordination of UET Power Station: