Optical Temperature Monitoring of Electrical Power Transformer Networks

Abstract

This thesis presents an optical sensor network model designed to monitor temperature of transformers at multiple substations from one central location. Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) has been used as the optical sensing element for transformer temperature monitoring. Suitable FBG parameters and specifications have been investigated and modeled that fit best for this application. Optical sensor network is laid on top of the transmission line network. This reduced the cost of fiber installation.The wavelengths of backscattered light at different temperatures for the modeled Fiber Bragg Grating have been obtained. These values are used as a reference to find the actual temperature of the transformers from the central station. Different network topologies that can be implemented for such applications are presented and the most suitable one is assessed for link budget and cost analysis of the optical sensor network. The temperature sensing range is from 300C to 900C. The minimum temperature accuracy that can be achieved is about 0.010C. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) is employed to identify individual transformers in the network at the central station. A Model to find an optimal node to place the optical sources is also presented. The temperature monitoring of standard IEEE transmission networks has been obtained.