The present invention relates to a method for protecting a DC generator against overvoltage in the event of a loss of load.
The method is particularly intended for use with the supply of direct current to an electrostatic precipitator, comprising discharge electrodes and collecting electrodes, with the object of maintaining a constant or varying DC voltage between these electrodes.
Electrical energy is usually supplied to consumers with the requirement that the voltage at the point of supply will remain constant. This applies within prescribed limits of the current intensity. In reality, it usually means that the voltage is slightly too high when there is a low load and that in the event of an overload the voltage drops below the specified normal value. The power source is a voltage generator that can deliver a particular maximal voltage, and a small, but not negligible, internal resistance provides a falling voltage when the current increases.
In other connections, it is rather a case of sources that instead deliver a constant or almost constant current with greatly varying voltage at the point of supply. These current generators can give very great voltage rises when the current is interrupted or when the current is at least intended to be interrupted. This often results in damage, such as material migration and damaged switches or burnt-out measuring instruments, while in other cases it is desirable, as in the ignition system in a car.
With modern electronics, it is possible to construct voltage transducers which, combined with rectifiers, work essentially as constant current generators. Examples of such are to be found in DE 35 22 568, DE 35 22 569, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,294 and SE 9703247-8. The components included in the equipment shown have usually, however, rather limited tolerance to overvoltage and can be damaged thermally in quite a short time. This means that a total loss of load can result in the equipment being damaged severely within an interval of time that is shorter than the interval of time needed for the safety systems to be able to interrupt the voltage supply.
Generally, the loss of load can either be due to something happening during operation that means that the contact between the current generator and the load is broken or to the current generator being started by mistake while the load is disconnected.
The references mentioned above concern current supply to electrostatic precipitators. This means high mechanical stability and very robust constructions. In these cases, the most common cause of a fault is that the rectifier, that is the current generator, is restarted after stoppage and maintenance, without the load being reconnected.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a method for avoiding fatal breakdowns in modem power supply units due to them being started without the load being connected or without a sufficiently large load being connected.
Another object of the present invention is to increase the reliability of electrostatic precipitators by reducing the risk of stoppages due to rectifier breakdowns resulting from starting without the load being connected.
The present invention relates to a method for protecting a DC generator against overvoltage in the event of a loss of load.
In the method according to the invention, a voltage limit value is defined and, when starting the current generator, one or a few small current pulses are generated during an initial phase. The voltage is measured across the output of the current generator during the initial phase and the voltages measured across the output of the current generator are compared with the voltage limit value. There is a changeover to normal operation only if all the voltages across the output of the current generator measured during the initial phase are below the voltage limit value. The current generation is interrupted and a loss of load is indicated if any one of the voltages across the output of the current generator measured during the initial phase exceeds the voltage limit value.
For modem voltage transducers of the type called current generators, a loss of load results in the risk of catastrophic damage to the equipment. In order to avoid such DC generators being started by mistake without a load being connected, a special starting procedure is proposed according to the present invention.
During an initial phase, one or a few small current pulses are generated by the current generator. The voltage is measured across the output of the current generator during the initial phase and the measured voltages are compared with a set limit value. If any one of the measured voltages exceeds the set limit value, the starting procedure is stopped. If all the measured voltages are below the set limit value, there is change-over to normal operation. By voltage is meant, in this connection, the absolute amount of the voltage without taking polarity into account. If the main polarity is negative, this is disregarded.
The duration of the initial phase can, without problems, be short, for example less than 1 second, preferably less than 0.1 second and particularly preferably less than 0.01 second. The number of current pulses can be between 1 and 10, preferably 1-2, each with a duration less than 10 microseconds, preferably each with a duration less than 5 microseconds.
The voltage limit value should essentially be less than both the maximal permitted output voltage of the DC generator and the normal operating voltage for the application. It can suitably be selected between 10% and 50% of the normal operating voltage, but the method also permits lower voltage limit values. If there are appropriate conditions in measuring practice, the lowest limit is set as the quotient between the capacitance of the open output and the capacitance of the load.
The total charge that is applied during the initial phase should be selected in such a way that the current generator without load obtains an output voltage between the voltage limit value and the normal operating voltage and in such a way that the current generator with load obtains an output voltage below the voltage limit value. The total charge which is applied during the initial phase is suitably selected in such a way that the current generator with load obtains an output voltage below 10% of the normal operating voltage, preferably below 1% of the normal operating voltage.
The method according to the invention can be used for a number of different applications where a DC generator of the constant current generator type is used. The main object of this invention is, however, to use the method at the start of the supply of direct current to an electrostatic precipitator, comprising discharge electrodes and collecting electrodes, with the object of maintaining a constant or varying DC voltage between these electrodes.
The method according to the invention is preferably intended to be used at the start of the supply of pulsating direct current to an electrostatic precipitator, preferably at the start of the supply of direct current from a frequency-modulated voltage transducer, the output voltage of which is transformed and rectified.