Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1932

Degree Type

Thesis

Major

Electrical Engineering

Major Professor

J. G. Tarboux

Abstract

Before the beginning of the twentieth century there were a few engineers who realized the possibility that commercial alternating current might be used in some manner to measure time: but as everything else people failed to accept such a theory and the engineers' dreams did not materialize until quite a few vears later

Up to 1916 there was no commercial alternating-current system in existence in which generator speed was regulated with sufficient accuracy so that the current could be used in indicating time through some indicating device utilizing the variations of the alternating current to record time.

One finds the need of accurately regulated frequency for alternating-current svstems in the modern plan of interconnections. The extremely large growth in the demand for power in the last few vears has made it necessary for the various power companies to extend their lines and increase their generating capacities in order to cope with the increase in demand for power. At times some of the companies' stations are not able to carry the excess load applied at certain hours during the day and on the other hand there may be times when the load is not great enough to require the operation of all the units.Another important factor is found in the fact that there is a possibility that the service might be interrupted by some disturbance. All these factors help to make up the conditions which make it necessary for some means to be found that will give the greatest system efficiency and at the same time will require the minimum amount of operating costs with the least possibility of interruptions in service. This demand was answered by the plan of interconnections between power companies. In order for the companies to interconnect their frequency must be the same that the two systems might be synchronized, which fact necessitates the standardizing of the frequency at each of the companies' generating plants.

This standardization of frequencies is a complicated operation since the operators have to keep a constant lookout for variations in the frequency and adjust the control of the generators accordingly. Many devices for the control of frequencies are now in the process of developement but as vet none of them have been found to be practical enough to justify their being placed on the market.

In presenting this thesis the authors hope to furnish a reasonable means of controlling automatically the frequency of a power generating station with the least possible error. It has long been necessary for the operators to watch the instruments and consequently adjust the governors controlling the generators. The device here presented, if found practical and can be developed,will do away with the operators! constant vigil and automatically control the governors of the generators which likewise controls the speed and the frequency of the system,

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