Power engineering
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Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a subfield of electrical engineering that deals with the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric power, and the electrical apparatus connected to such systems. Although much of the field is concerned with the problems of three-phase AC power – the standard for large-scale power transmission and distribution across the modern world – a significant fraction of the field is concerned with the conversion between AC and DC power and the development of specialized power systems such as those used in aircraft or for electric railway networks. Power engineering draws the majority of its theoretical base from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
History
Pioneering years
Electricity became a subject of scientific interest in the late 17th century. Over the next two centuries a number of important discoveries were made including the incandescent light bulb and the voltaic pile.[1][2] Probably the greatest discovery with respect to power engineering came from Michael Faraday who in 1831 discovered that a change in magnetic flux induces an electromotive force in a loop of wire—a principle known as electromagnetic induction that helps explain how generators and transformers work.[3]
In 1881 two electricians built the world's first power station at
That same year in London Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs demonstrated the first transformer suitable for use in a real power system. The practical value of Gaulard and Gibbs' transformer was demonstrated in 1884 at Turin where the transformer was used to light up forty kilometres (25 miles) of railway from a single alternating current generator.[8] Despite the success of the system, the pair made some fundamental mistakes. Perhaps the most serious was connecting the primaries of the transformers in series so that switching one lamp on or off would affect other lamps further down the line. Following the demonstration George Westinghouse, an American entrepreneur, imported a number of the transformers along with a Siemens generator and set his engineers to experimenting with them in the hopes of improving them for use in a commercial power system.
One of Westinghouse's engineers,
By 1890 the power industry had flourished and power companies had built thousands of power systems (both direct and alternating current) in the United States and Europe – these networks were effectively dedicated to providing electric lighting. During this time a fierce rivalry in the US known as the "
Twentieth century
Power engineering and Bolshevism
The generation of electricity was regarded as particularly important following the
Power engineering in the USA
In 1936 the first commercial
Power
Power Engineering deals with the
Power engineers may also work on systems that do not connect to the grid. These systems are called off-grid power systems and may be used in preference to on-grid systems for a variety of reasons. For example, in remote locations it may be cheaper for a mine to generate its own power rather than pay for connection to the grid and in most mobile applications connection to the grid is simply not practical.
Fields
Electricity generation covers the selection, design and construction of facilities that convert energy from primary forms to electric power.
Electric power distribution engineering covers those elements of a power system from a substation to the end customer.
Power system protection is the study of the ways an electrical power system can fail, and the methods to detect and mitigate for such failures.
In most projects, a power engineer must coordinate with many other disciplines such as civil and mechanical engineers, environmental experts, and legal and financial personnel. Major power system projects such as a large generating station may require scores of design professionals in addition to the power system engineers. At most levels of professional power system engineering practice, the engineer will require as much in the way of administrative and organizational skills as electrical engineering knowledge.
Professional societies and international standards organizations
In both the UK and the US, professional societies had long existed for civil and mechanical engineers. The
See also
References
- ^ "The History Of The Light Bulb". Net Guides Publishing, Inc. 2004. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ Greenslade, Thomas. "The Voltaic Pile". Kenyon College. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Faraday Page". The Royal Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Godalming Power Station". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- ^ Williams, Jasmin (2007-11-30). "Edison Lights The City". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Grant, Casey. "The Birth of NFPA". National Fire Protection Association. Archived from the original on 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ "Bulk Electricity Grid Beginnings" (PDF) (Press release). New York Independent System Operator. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Katz, Evgeny (2007-04-08). "Lucien Gaulard". Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Great Barrington 1886 - Inspiring an industry toward AC power
- ^ Blalock, Thomas (2004-10-02). "Alternating Current Electrification, 1886". IEEE. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ISBN 9780824729158. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
- ^ Petar Miljanic, Tesla's Polyphase System and Induction Motor, Serbian Journal of Electrical Engineering, pp. 121–130, Vol. 3, No. 2, November 2006.
- ^ Foran, Jack. "The Day They Turned The Falls On". Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Voith Siemens (company) (2007-02-01). HyPower (PDF). p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "Adams Hydroelectric Generating Plant, 1895". IEEE. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Vladimir, Lenin (1920). Our Foreign and Domestic Position and Party Tasks. Moscow.
Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country, since industry cannot be developed without electrification.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "A Novel but Short-Lived Power Distribution System". IEEE. 2005-05-01. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Gene Wolf (2000-12-01). "Electricity Through the Ages". Transmission & Distribution World.
- ^ John Tyner, Rick Bush and Mike Eby (1999-11-01). "A Fifty-Year Retrospective". Transmission & Distribution World.
- ^ "Gas Insulated Switchgear". ABB. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ Amin, Sayed. "SF6 Transformer". Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
External links
- IEEE Power Engineering Society
- Jadavpur University, Department of Power Engineering
- Power Engineering International Magazine Articles
- Power Engineering Magazine Articles
- American Society of Power Engineers, Inc.
- National Institute for the Uniform Licensing of Power Engineer Inc.
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Power Systems Engineering