Apparatus and method for the measurement and monitoring of electrical power generation and transmission

Abstract

An apparatus in accordance with the present invention allows for a determination of the amount and direction of electric power flowing over a particular high-voltage electric power transmission line without proximate access to said transmission line, and further allows for a determination of the amount of electric power being produced by any particular electric power generation plant connected to an electric power transmission grid.

1 . An apparatus for measuring electric potential and magnetic flux density associated with an electric power transmission line, comprising: 
 a first sensor for outputting a voltage proportional to the net electric potential associated with said transmission line; and    a second sensor responsive to a first vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line.    
     
     
         2 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 1   , and further comprising: 
 a third sensor responsive to a second vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line.    
     
     
         3 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 1   , wherein said first sensor comprises a conducting plate operably connected to a operational amplifier circuit, thereby creating a capacitive voltage divider for outputting a voltage proportional to the net electric potential associated with said transmission line.  
     
     
         4 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 2   , wherein said second sensor is oriented to respond to a substantially horizontal vector component of the magnetic flux density.  
     
     
         5 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 4   , wherein said third sensor is oriented to respond to a substantially vertical vector component of the magnetic flux density.  
     
     
         6 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 2   , wherein said second sensor comprises a coil with its axis oriented in the direction of said first vector component of the magnetic flux density, the voltage across said coil being proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line.  
     
     
         7 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 6   , wherein said third sensor comprises a coil with its axis oriented in the direction of said second vector component of the magnetic flux density, the voltage across said coil being proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line.  
     
     
         8 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 2   , and further comprising respective amplification and filtration circuits for converting each of the output voltages associated with each sensor into a representative numerical value; and a memory register for storing said representative numerical values.  
     
     
         9 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 8   , and further comprising a transceiver for transmitting said representative numerical values from said memory register to a central processing facility.  
     
     
         10 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 2   , wherein said first, second, and third sensors are stored in a weatherproof housing.  
     
     
         11 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 10   , and further comprising a battery for powering the sensors of the apparatus.  
     
     
         12 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 11   , wherein said battery is continuously recharged by a solar panel array.  
     
     
         13 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 9   , wherein said first, second, and third sensors are stored in a first weatherproof housing, and said transceiver is stored in a second weatherproof housing.  
     
     
         14 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 13   , and further comprising a battery for powering the sensors of the apparatus, said battery being stored in said second weatherproof housing.  
     
     
         15 . An apparatus as recited in    claim 14   , wherein said battery is continuously recharged by a solar panel array.  
     
     
         16 . A method for monitoring the electric power transmission through one or more electric power transmission lines and communicating such electric power transmission information, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) measuring the electric potential and at least one vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with each said transmission line to generate a data set;    (b) transmitting each said data set to a central processing facility;    (c) performing a computational analysis on each said data set to determine the amount of current and the direction of current flowing through each said transmission line, and then computing the power associated with each said transmission line; and    (d) communicating said power transmission information to an end user.    
     
     
         17 . A method as recited in    claim 16    in which the measuring of the electric potential and the vector components of the magnetic flux density for a particular transmission line is accomplished by: 
 a first sensor for outputting a voltage proportional to the net electric potential associated with said transmission line;  
 a second sensor responsive to a first vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line; and  
 a third sensor responsive to a second vector component of the magnetic flux density associated with said transmission line and outputting a voltage proportional to the time rate of change of the net magnetic flux density generated by current flowing through said transmission line.  
 
     
     
         18 . A method as recited in    claim 16    in which the transmission of each data set to the central processing facility is accomplished through a landline network.  
     
     
         19 . A method as recited in    claim 16    in which the transmission of each data set to the central processing facility is accomplished through a wireless network.  
     
     
         20 . A method as recited in    claim 17    in which the outputted voltage associated with each sensor is passed through a respective amplification and filtration circuit to amplify the respective voltages and remove extraneous noise prior to the transmission of the data set.  
     
     
         21 . A method as recited in    claim 20   , in which the computational analysis comprises the following sub-steps: 
 correcting each said data set to compensate for predictable errors relating to the geometry of the particular physical arrangement of the conductors of the transmission line;    correcting each said data set to compensate for predictable errors relating to the sensors and their interaction with the respective amplification and filtration circuits;    calculating the complex coefficients relating the measured magnetic flux density to the current through the conductors of the transmission line as determined by the geometry of the particular physical arrangement of the conductors of the transmission line;    solving a set of linear algebraic equations relating the magnetic flux density to the current through the conductors of the transmission line;    combining the phase of the measured electric potential with the phase of the measure magnetic flux density to determine the phase angle of the current through the transmission line with respect to the voltage on the transmission line;    calculating the power factor on the transmission line; and    determining the magnitude and direction of the real and reactive power on the transmission line.    
     
     
         22 . A method as recited in    claim 16    in which the compiled power generation information associated with each said transmission line is communicated to the end user through a global computer network.  
     
     
         23 . A method as recited in    claim 22    in which said global computer network is the Internet, said compiled power generation information being communicated and displayed through a conventional Internet browser.