Projects:2018s1-113 AVR Test Rig

Project Team

Team Members

Lindsay Millard

Alex Kiddy

Supervisors

Wen Soong

Nick Jones (ASC Pty Ltd)

Introduction

Motivation

ASC Pty Ltd, is an Adelaide based Australian naval shipbuilding company, responsible for the construction of the fleet of six Collins-class submarines (CCSM) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1990 and 2003. The company continues to support the fleet through an ongoing maintenance and upgrade program.

The Collins-class submarines are conventionally powered, which means they employ the use of diesel generators in order to enable the recharging the main batteries. The generator output voltage is controlled by an Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR), which maintains the generator outputs to set parameters (voltage, current and power) by controlling the generator field current.

ASC have approached the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at the University of Adelaide with a project that is to design and build a test module for the AVRs. The test module, or "test rig", will allow ASC to quickly and conveniently test and verify the serviceability of the AVRs prior to installation, without the need for a purpose-built facility with a diesel engine and generator set-up. This enables ASC to decrease risk in the form of cost and schedule overruns, by allowing the installation of an AVR that is proven to be in working order.

Aim

The aim of this project is to research and understand the underlying theoretical concepts behind the operation of an AVR for a synchronous generator. These concepts will then be integrated via a series of automated test programs into a physical test rig that will determine whether an AVR is performing correctly with respect to the underlying concepts. The test rig would supply initial excitation voltage to the AVR, allow setting of control parameters and provide feedback signals that replicated the response of the generators (speed, voltage and current). The test rig would be a standalone unit, with a high degree of customisable parameters available to the user, in order to enable the simulation of different generators in different scenarios. The test rig should be provided to ASC as a \proof of concept" package, in which the windings can be easily integrated into readily available hardware to allow them to interface with and test their own unique AVRs, using the knowledge and programming discussed here.