Electric Power Systems Technology--UNIT II: Electrical Power Production Systems

Unit II of this guide describes power production systems. The fundamentals of power production are examined in Section 4. Electrical power production systems include modern power systems such as fossil fuel (coal, oil, gas) systems, hydroelectric systems, and nuclear fission systems.

These systems are discussed in Section 4. However, there are also many alternative energy systems that are being studied as potential sources of electrical power. These alternative energy systems, which include nuclear fusion, geothermal, solar, wind, fuel-cell, Goal gasification, tidal, and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) systems, are discussed in Section 5.

Most of the electrical power that is produced is alternating current (AC) power. Section 6 deals with the single-phase and three-phase alternators that are used to produce AC power. Direct current (DC) power can be produced by chemical action or rotating machinery, or it can be converted from AC sources by the process of rectification. Section 7 deals with the systems used for production of direct current.

Figure II shows the electrical power systems model used in this book and the major topics of Unit II, Power Production.

Figure II. Electrical power systems model

• Modern Power Systems ( Section 4)
• Alternative Power Systems ( Section 5)
• Alternating Current (AC) Power Systems ( Section 6)
• Direct Current (DC) Power Systems ( Section 7)

UNIT OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain the basic operation of fossil fuel, hydroelectric, and nuclear fission electrical power systems.

2. Define the terms "load (demand) factor" and "capacity factor" for electrical power systems.

3. Describe coal, oil, and natural gas fossil fuel power production systems.

4. Describe the functions of steam turbines, boilers, and other auxiliary systems of power production systems.

5. Explain the difference between traditional hydroelectric systems and pumped storage hydroelectric systems.

6. Describe load-demand control of modem electrical power production systems.

7. List several alternative power production systems.

8. Explain the basic operation of the following alternative power production systems:

• Solar Energy Systems
• Geothermal Systems
• Wind Systems
• Magnetohydrodynamic (MHO) Systems
• Nuclear Fusion Systems
• Fuel-Cell Systems
• Tidal Power Systems
• Coal Gasification Systems
• Oil Shale Systems
• Biomass
• Fuel-Cell Systems
• Tidal Power Systems

9. State Faraday's law for electromagnetic induction.

10. Describe single-phase AC, three-phase AC, and DC generators.

11. Describe the effect of electrical generator speed, frequency calculation, voltage regulation, and efficiency.

12. Explain the difference between primary and secondary cells.

13. Calculate internal resistance of a DC cell.

14. Describe the following types of primary cells:

• Carbon-zinc
• Alkaline
• Mercury
• Nuclear

15. Describe the following types of secondary cells:

• Lead-Acid
• Nickel-Iron
• Nickel-Cadmium
• Silver-Oxide-Zinc

16. Explain the following types of DC generators:

• Permanent Magnet
• Separately Excited
• Self-Excited

17. Explain the following types of DC rectification systems:

• Single-Phase Half Wave
• Single-Phase Full Wave
• Single-Phase Bridge
• Three-Phase Half Wave
• Three-Phase Full Wave

18. Describe the effects of rotary converters, filtering methods, and regulation methods for the conversion of AC into DC.