It has roughly been a year since Sira-Kvina Kraftselskap introduced us to AIMSES, a spin-off from NTNU Technology Transfer. Research on fault detection in electrical machines in HydroCen, by Hossein Ehya, was ready to take the next step. From field measurements with oscilloscope to continuous measurements on a large hydro power generator.
Challenge: How to establish this in a cost-effective way in addition to delivering on requirements for data quality? The sensors in use have a sample rate of 10 kHz and from this raw data stream selection of datasets with specific criteria are needed for the analysis.
Sira-Kvina Kraftselskap seldom backs down from a challenge to push the limits for what can be achieved in terms of value from improving condition monitoring for its power plants. They made available a unit in one of Norway’s largest power plants, and its edge computing system HydroCord, for extended instrumentation and analysis
AIMSES provided their analysis technology and expertise to specify and verify necessary criteria to transfer from manual analyses to continuous generator condition monitoring.
High-level architecture for HydroCord
FDB’s part was to close the gap between groundbreaking research and industrial application. This by adapting the signal capacity and developing the data processing in our HydroCord edge computing system.
The HydroCord development took, in sum, a couple of weeks with coding and testing, in-house and together with AIMSES. The adaption of signal capacity (buy material/hardware and wait for it to arrive) took significantly longer.
Sira-Kvina, AIMSES, and FDB are ready to commission the new generator condition monitoring when the opportunity arises in a power plant with a tight production schedule.