The generator step-up transformer (GSU) increases the voltage from the power plant's generator before transmitting electricity long distances through transmission lines. It consists of coils of wire wrapped around an iron core that uses electromagnetic induction to "step up" the voltage. This higher voltage allows less energy to be lost during transmission to distant substations and consumers. At substations, the voltage is stepped down further for distribution to homes and businesses.
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4. Generator Step Up Transformer
1. CHARLES ISIADINSO
GENERATOR STEP-UP
TRANSFORMER (GSU)
The generator is connected to the GSU via a generator circuit
breaker, so the next stage in the electricity generation and
transmission process is the GSU.
After power has been generated, it needs to be transmitted from
the plant to consumers. There are two steps from the plant to the
consumers:
1. Power plant to electrical substation (power transmission)
2. High-voltage substations to consumers (power distribution)
The role of a transformer is to modify the voltage of current
coming into it, either by increasing it (stepping-up) or decreasing it
(stepping-down), this is done using the law of electromagnetic
induction. Voltage is usually stepped up from the power plant
output voltage to the transmission line transmission voltage. And
is stepped back down from the transmission voltage to a lower
more manageable voltage at electrical substations and stepped
down further before reaching the consumer.
Power plant output has to be transmitted to the consumers, and
one plant can be responsible for supplying hundreds of homes and
businesses, hundreds of miles away, with electricity. This translates
to a grid systems comprising of miles of cables connecting the
plant to its consumers. Energy is lost when transmitting electricity
over long distances; however, at higher voltages (greater than 120
kV) less energy is lost than at lower voltages, for this reason, the
plant output voltage is stepped up before being transmitted.
A transformer unit consists of:
1. Two sets of bushings, one insulate the conductors when they
enter the generator the other set insulate when the
conductors leave the generator
2. CHARLES ISIADINSO
2. Radiator fins/fans, which is responsible for cooling oil in the
transformer
3. Conservator tank, which provides and environment for oil to
expand on heating and contract on cooling, reducing waste
4. Three voltage transformers, which carry out the voltage step-
up or down
5. Tap changer, which controls the amount of voltage change
by reducing the number of effective loops in a layer of
windings, and
6. Explosion vent, which protects the unit in the event of a
major fault
The voltage transformer is made up of a laminate steel core
surrounded by two layers of conductor windings (usually copper
wire), each with a different number of loops. The more loops in a
winding, the higher the voltage of the current flowing through the
winding. The voltage transformer is assembled with the core in the
center, the winding layer with fewer loops (low voltage windings)
at the end and then layer with more loops (high voltage windings),
between the core and the low voltage windings. In a generator step-
up transformer, current enters the generator through a conductor
connected to the low voltage windings, induces a magnetic flux in
the iron core, and this flux induces a current in the high voltage
windings, which is connected to a conductor that connects to the
transmission lines. The reverse is the case for a step-down
transformer.
3. CHARLES ISIADINSO
REFERENCE:
1. "Generator Step-up Transformers (GSU)." - Power
Transformers. N.p., n.d. Web. [Accessed16 June 2014].
2. "Transformer."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June
2014. Web. [Accessed16 June 2014].
3. "Electromagnetic Induction." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 06 Oct. 2014. Web. [Accessed16 June 2014].
4. "Electric Power Transmission."Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 15 June 2014. Web. [Accessed 16 June 2014].