INRTU students create a prototype of a device for protecting electrical equipment from short circuits

Students of School of Power Engineering of INRTU are developing a digital device to protect electrical equipment from short circuits as part of their project activities.

The curator is Denis Fedosov, Head of the Department of Power Stations, Networks and Systems. The work is carried out at the intersection of information technology and energy, which contributes to the implementation of one of the strategic projects of Irkutsk Polytechnic University - Digital Industrial Technologies (Priority 2030 Program).

This topic began to be developed after a large-scale accident that occurred in 2014 at the Rostov NPP. The reason was incorrect operation of the busbar protection device. In case of a short circuit, not only the damaged objects were turned off, but also almost the entire power plant. Consumers of the United Energy System (UES) of the South were left without electricity for a day, about two gigawatts of power were turned off. Modern power engineers believe that the cause of emergencies is the incorrect operation of current transformers. The equipment can be replaced, but the cost of such equipment reaches is several million rubles. "We offer a more economical option for enterprises - improving the algorithms of protective devices."
The team of power engineers plans to connect students of the Institute of Information Technology and Data Analysis to their project to optimize processes. The Polytechnic students intend to present a prototype of a device for protecting electrical equipment from short circuits to enterprises and count on its introduction into mass production.

Student Mikhail Pestryakov is sure that the development will interest representatives of the business community:

"This is a high-tech and promising project that will help reduce the risk of accidents at stations.

When we were offered to choose the direction of project activity, I decided without hesitation that I wanted to join Denis Sergeevich's team, because he is an excellent teacher who gives students relevant knowledge.

Thanks to this project, I was able to quickly master the modern MATLAB program, learn how to model current transformers, and check systems."