Development of Thermal Models Towards Reliability Assessment in Energy Delivery Network at FortisBC

The main mission of FortisBC is delivering energy (in the form of electricity and natural gas) safely and reliably at the lowest reasonable cost with lowest emissions. Any maloperations or unexpected interruptions in equipment of the energy supply network may lead to unreliable and unsafe conditions of power delivering to the consumers. For this purpose, continuous monitoring of the condition of the significant elements of the network is a vital need. This project aims to focus on two main components of the energy network, i.e., Power Transformers, and Transmission Pipelines. Aging of power transformers and operating the gas pipelines in cold temperature-areas increase the risk of failures in the energy delivery network. A comprehensive study will be carried out to explore the significant factors that impact the reliable operation of each system. A cost-effective and practical tool based on thermal science and engineering approaches will be developed to predict the life expectancy of power transformers and the minimum temperature of the transmission pipeline to prevent or minimize the corresponding failures in energy network.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mohammad Arjmand

Student:

Ehsan Ebrahimnia Bajestan

Partner:

FortisBC

Discipline:

Engineering - other

Sector:

Energy

University:

Program: