week the team would install some mitigation devices , before taking further readings .
“ During the detailed power quality study , significant transient voltage events were identified at the Hartlepool site ,” says Steve Young MIET . “ These events posed a substantial risk to connected drives and other critical equipment . Using a thorough data analysis , I determined that these transients were a likely source of recurring equipment issues .”
“ The results of the two-week study were quite startling ,” explained Denis Jennings , senior project engineer – electrical at Tata Steel Europe . “ Within the first twelve hours of fitting the logger , the memory was consumed by transients , which weren ’ t picked up on previous studies because we ’ d set the trigger level too high . Therefore , we deliberately lowered the level to get a more accurate picture .”
Effective mitigation
In the second week of the latest study , Steve introduced SineTamer , a transient voltage surge suppression ( TVSS ) device that protects AC drives , VSDs , and other sensitive electrical systems . This was temporarily applied as a test , and was immediately successful , demonstrating significant suppression of transient events .
Unlike other devices , SineTamer uses special frequency attenuation , which is frequency-actuated rather than voltage-actuated . Consequently , the device can actively track and follow the sinewave form — protecting all 360 degrees , not just the extremes . CP Automation had previously introduced the device to Steve , who recommended it to Tata Steel .
“ We connected the SineTamer to the same supply and recorded no further transients in that second week ,” added Jennings . “ It was clear SineTamer would be very beneficial and had already improved the quality of the incoming supply .”
Through CP Automation , Tata Steel purchased seven SineTamer devices . These included one CP18- LAY2 voltage disturbance filter , a compact unit that can limit internally generated transients , as well as lightning and utility company-induced surges . They also procured six CP-RM-ST503N4 surge protective devices ( SPDs ) and fitted the CP18-LAY2 to the main incoming supply , the drive suite previously affected by the outages . Smaller units were also installed downstream on the individual drive supplies .
“ Implementing the SineTamer solution proved highly effective , and I strongly advocate its use as part of a comprehensive approach to mitigating power quality issues ,” added Young .
Durable , sustained uptime
“ Relying on a standard low-cost SPD would have been problematic for Tata Steel ,” added John Mitchell , global sales and marketing director at CP Automation . “ Once these have blown following a transient , the site is no longer protected . Also , they will only kick in once the voltage hits a certain threshold — by which point , significant letthrough voltage has built up .
“ SineTamers can take multiple hits and continue protecting once an incident has occurred , but they also minimise let-through voltage ,” added Mitchell . “ Tata Steel needed to keep its pipe production online — and there was no doubt SineTamer was the device for the job .”
“ Several months on and the difference is night and day ,” continued Jennings . “ Outages are minimal and , when an issue does occur , devices like the AC , DC and variable speed drives recover far quicker and with minimal disruption . We now have a clean , transient-free supply to the critical drives panels and the impact has been remarkable .
“ John from CP Automation has always been very open with us , and we ’ ve enjoyed working with them ,” added Jennings . “ I can ’ t fault the experience we had — and we look forward to working together again in the future .”
For more information about SineTamer and surge protective devices , visit the CP Automation website and download the product datasheets for free .
For further information , please visit www . cpaltd . net
Issue 73 PECM 29