Chinese Language Version
60 Patents 112 Pending ...Worldwide
www.Polar-Star.us
Contact: Cliff Lyon 801.895.2977 USA
A team of physicists and engineers at Dartmouth College led by Dr. Victor Petrenko have unlocked the secrets of ice and perfected number of ways to make ice work for us instead of against us.
Dr. Victor F. Petrenko
website
Director, Ice Physics Research Lab Thayer School of Engineering Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA 60 patents, 112 pending worldwide
M.S., Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Ph.D., U.S.S.R. Academy of Science, Moscow 1974 D.Sc., Physics and Mathematics, U.S.S.R. Academy of Science, Chernogolovka 1983 Publishing: Physics of Ice Physics of Semiconductors Over 150 scientific publications (See video interview)
(见访问视频) Photo Courtesy of Gary Braasch. All Rights Reserved
Premise Power Grid
VRC technology controls ice on power transmission lines without service interruption.
Today, the US power grid is over-capacity causing massive loss of heat energy. VRC means higher capacity lines can be employed improving transmission efficiency by up to 25% for over 50% of the grid worldwide.
(VRC Technical Paper) (US Patent, Chinese Patent)
VRC for Smart Grids
VRC for Smart Grids
Distribution and transmission lines today carry much more power than their original design capacity. While this over-capacity produces excess heat, which conveniently serves as an anti-icer, the energy loss is immense. As smart grids replace old grids worldwide, VRC technology will allow engineers to design for capacity and maximum efficiency unencumbered by the compromises in efficiency once demanded by the threat of ice.
Successfully tested winter '09-'10 in The Ural Mountains of Russia. (See Video 点击视频 ) (VRC Technical Paper) (US Patent)
VRC Animation
VRC solution uses proprietary power electronics and slightly modified conventional power-line cables to switch from lowresistance to high-resistance mode for deicing without service interruption. Deicing takes from 30s - 3 minutes and consumes less than 5% of the electricity running through the lines. VRC also works on power transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Click to see video animation
â—? Uses conventional power cables, either modified or replaced â—? Requires inexpensive high power switching electronics â—? Fast, cost and energy efficient
The cable heating power = (Current)2 x Cable resistance
De-Icing: High resistance Normal operations: Low resistance
One section can be from 50m to 10km
Simple Diagram
Normal Mode vs. Deicing Mode
Four - Strand Bundle Option #1 switch #2
switch #1
switch #3
Normal mode: all the switches are closed. Deicing mode 1: all the switches are open. Deicing mode 2: switches 1 & 2 are open, switch 3 is closed.
Option #2 switch #1
switch #2
switch #4 switch #3
Normal mode: all the switches are closed Deicing mode 1: all the switches open except 4 closed Deicing mode 2: all the switches open except 3 closed
VRC Math
The Mathematics of VRC Summary: VRC deicing works because the current flowing through parallel conductors in a cable bundle is rerouted to flow through the individual cables in series, thus increasing the resistance of the circuit by a factor of N2, where N is the number of cables in the bundle. So for a 3 cable bundle, R increases 9x.
Nwire is the number of strands (wires) in a conductor, 3, 4, 5, 6,‌ Iline is the line current Iswitch is the current passing through one switch Vswitch is the voltage drop across one switch Rtransmission is conductor resistance per meter in the normal (transmission) mode Rdeicing is conductor resistance per meter in the deicing/anti-icing mode Pdeicing is heating power per meter of the conductor length
(VRC Technical Paper) (US Patent, Chinese Patent)
Chinese Language Version
VRC Technical Paper
Download VRC Technical Paper
VRC Field Test
VRC Field Test in Orenburg, Russia, Winter 2009/2010 Test Specifications: ○ Line voltage: 10.5kV ○ Line frequency: 50Hz ○ Distance between towers: 35m to 60m ○ Type of conductor used: bundled Line current: ● Ampacity: 175A ● Current during the test: 60A to 70A ● VRC was designed for 40A to 100A range
Click to play video 点击视频
VRC Field Test
Test Specifications: ● Line voltage: 10.5kV ● Line frequency: 50Hz ● Distance between towers: 35m to 60m ● Type of conductor used: bundled Line current: ● Ampacity: 175A ● Current during the test: 60A to 70A ● VRC was designed for 40A to 100A range
Lab Demonstration
VRC Power Line Deicing Demonstration
Click to play video 点击视频
Chinese Language Videos VRC Deicing Separated Bundle (Chinese) VRC Deicing Stranded Bundle (Chinese)
Chinese Language Version Entire Presentation
VRC Basic Design
Basic Design VRC Systems ● The conductors are electrically isolated from each other and from ground. ● Wind, temperature, and ice sensors provide information for automatic or manual deicing. Deicing control can be remote and wireless using GSM. ● Electric Power for the switches/control electronics is taken from the line by using current transformers. A backup battery can also be used. If the control electronics fail or lose power, they automatically return the system to normal power transmission mode. ● Control electronics and sensor systems can be fully integrated with existing grid infrastructure, control systems and software. ● A backup safety system integrates a fuseable link so that in case of overheating due to control failure, the system automatically returns the lines to low-resistance transmission mode. Figure 1. Example conductor configuration for a split-phase line
High Tension Transmission Tower Termination
Design Characteristics: High Tension Transmission Tower Termination
Fig 1. Termination 1
Fig 3. Run-Through Termination
Fig 2. Termination 2
High TensionII
High Tension Transmission VRC Line Configuration (Tower Not Shown) Conductors Termination Isolators
Conductors
Not Shown: Temperature, Wind and Ice Sensors Control Electronics Hub Containing Switches
Construction of a composite VRC cable for power transmission lines
insulatio n
steel wire
aluminum wire
VRC Control Electronics ● Power for the switch/control boxes is taken from the line by using current-transformers. ● If for any reason power goes off, the line is automatically switched to normal transmission mode. ● The control boxes are equipped with conductor temperature and ice sensors. ● The control electronics can work in an automatic mode, but can also be controlled remotely as shown in the next slide. ● If the control electronics are damaged during deicing, a fusable link attached to a conductor is melted and releases a mechanical switch which returns the section to normal low-resistance mode.
Air temperature
Ice thickness sensor
Wind velocity sensor
Cable temperature
GSM module
Cable current sensor
1. Monitoring and transmitting data 2. Switching/mode control
Power and control electronics of PL de-icing This part is under power line potential
Remote Control for Smart-Grid VRC This part is under ground potential
Computer
GSM module
Antenna
Antenna
Vacuum HF Normally Closed Switches Link to web page
An Example of 25kV switch is shown.
25k g
45k g
Other Solutions
Other Ice Management Solutions Short Circuit De-icing Advantage: Well-tested, fully-developed. Disadvantage: Interrupts power to customers. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
80-year old technology invented in Russia. Requires expensive power-equipment. Cannot perform “anti-icing” Not suitable for deicing short sections. Damages cables through overheating.
Single Conductor Heating (Couture, Hydro Quebec) ● Has been tested, but only heats one conductor at a time. High Frequency PL De-Icing (IceCode) ● Alternative method developed by IceCode Tower Reinforcement ● Expensive; requires tower replacement. Not 100% reliable.
Power Danger I
Every winter, headlines repeat themselves:
"Ice Storm Leaves Millions Without Power!" In March of 2008, a severe ice storm destroyed over 80% of the Jiangxi power grid in China leaving over 20 million without power for almost 2 weeks. As many as 172,000 high-voltage pylons collapsed under the weight of ice and snow. 153,000 kilometers of low-voltage transmission lines were damaged. The Chinese government put the direct economic losses from the disaster at 21 billion U.S. dollars. - Source Great Ice Storm of 1998, USA "In January 1998, a massive combination of five successive ice storms combined to strike a relatively narrow swath of land across eastern Canada and bordering areas from northern New York to central Maine. Estimates of material damages reached $4-6 billion for all the areas affected. Damage to the power grid was so severe that major rebuilding, not repairing, of the electrical grid had to be undertaken. Many power lines broke and over 1,000 pylons collapsed in chain reactions under the weight of the ice, leaving more than 4 million people without electricity, some of them for an entire month. At least 25 people died in the areas affected, primarily from hypothermia," Source
VRC Cost Benefit
VRC for Smart Grids Cost Benefit ● No service interruption ● De-icing and anti-icing modes for electric power transmission and distribution lines ● Constant monitoring of icing conditions How it works ● Variable Resistance Conductors (VRC) ● Sensors & power units switch resistance automatically or manually, as needed Value ● Eliminates energy loss through over-capacity cables ● No interruption in power service to customers ● Increases public safety ● Protects utility infrastructure from costly damage
● Small % in overall cost of cable installation ● VRC components exceed the 30-50 year cable lifespan ● Redirects less than 5% of electrical energy during operation Environment ● Recovers substantial electric energy now being lost ● Eliminates continuous heat dissipating into atmosphere
VRC Advantage
VRC Advantages ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Complete and rapid de-icing No interruption to customers’ service No external (auxiliary) power supply required De-ice sections of any length Anti-icing mode Uses widely available cables, switches and dielectric spacers Cheapest method to implement Uses significantly less energy than conventional short-circuit method Not subject to overheating and damaging lines as with short-circuit method Provides customers with power even if the electronics fail Easiest to implement Successfully tested in Oremburg Russia
About Over 170 granted or pending worldwide patents in the field of ice management have come out of Dartmouth Engineering Professor Victor Petrenko's Ice Research Lab since 2003. The principal technology, Pulse Electro-Thermal Deicing (PETD) instantly breaks the bond between ice and surfaces. In another configuration, PETD can increase the friction between ice and other objects such as shoes or tires, creating “ice brakes.�
About IceCode
The breakthrough that PETD represents is the discovery that the amount of energy required to de-ice a surface is inversely proportional to the intensity of the power applied and the thinness of the interface being heated. Paradoxically, short, 1 to 5 second high-density electrical pulses applied to a variety of surfaces, detaches ice using very little energy. Over $20 million in development funding has produced highly optimized PETD-based ice management solutions with broad and disruptive commercial applications in aerospace, defense, automotive, wind energy, power transmission and refrigeration among others.
Last Slide of 7 (short presentation)
Full PolarStar Presentation
Chinese Language Version (VRC only)