Blackout

About: Blackout is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2088 publications have been published within this topic receiving 30433 citations.

Load behaviour prediction under blackout conditions using a fuzzy expert system

Abstract: This paper proposes a method to forecast load behaviour during restoration of power systems after total or partial blackouts. Load behaviour after blackouts can be anomalous and differ significantly from that during normal operation conditions. A heuristic top-down approach was adopted to develop the forecasting method, using an expert system based on linguistic variables and fuzzy logic rules as its central core. The approach addresses the main aspects of load behaviour during re-energisation and is capable of representing physical phenomena. The proposed methodology was tested with data from real electrical power substations and these test results are presented.

Out-of-Phase Synchronization of a Small Alternator

Abstract: In modern power systems with large amounts of dispersed generation the islanding of distribution networks is now a realistic possibility. Islanding can be implemented following system disturbances to improve the continuity of electricity supply and prevent blackout. Before this can become widespread many issues must be considered. One of the major concerns and the topic of this paper is out-of-phase synchronization and its effect on the system. To investigate this, a series of tests were preformed on a small 31.5 kVA alternator. The results show the differences in peak torque and current between synchronizations where the rotor either leads or lags the main system. They also let the authors propose a maximum acceptable synchronization angle for small generators that is higher than that used for larger plant. A simulation has been performed to give the expected system voltage deviations when re-connecting an island out-of-synchronously to the main system.

Circuits and currents: Dynamics of disruption in New York City blackouts

Abstract: Blackouts are technological breakdowns that result in social ruptures. Everyday patterns are disrupted, causing inversions of authority, creating new and spontaneous opportunities for social relationships, and offering unusual opportunities for economic benefit. Analysis of blackouts in New York City helps us to understand the role of electricity in the lives of city dwellers, their expectations of what energy should do for them, and when and how it should function. Absences of electricity provide a liminal context in which to examine the role of energy in creating and maintaining the technological and social order that we have come to expect—and demand. This article argues that, through the darkness of electrical disruption, blackouts illuminate two metaphors that connect the scientific properties of electricity with the social order shaped by electricity: circuits and currents. When the circuits of electricity are broken, currents of power in technical, social, economic, and political arenas are also disrupted.

Upgrading the Blackout Defense Scheme Against Extreme Disasters Part I New Challenges and Reflection

Abstract: This paper investigates new challenges that a blackout defense system has to confront under extreme external conditions and the way to cope with them.As the first part of the two-part paper,it reviews the defense system in operation,summarizes the characteristics of blackouts under extreme external circumstance,and points out the difficulties that the defense system designed for general faults has encountered.An idea is presented to extend the defense system's activating time scale from both sides,namely the power system planning stage for long term preventive countermeasures,as well as the restoration control stage in case of the power system disintegrated.It is also proposed to further upgrade functions of the defense system on aspects of wide-area information,simulation analysis and decision-making support.