ASTROSE News

The Forum Netzbau und Netzbetrieb (Leitungsbautagung) will take place this year on May 12 and 13 in Hamburg at the Hotel Grand Elysee www.tagungsgesellschaft.de/programm.

With its current sensors, the ASTROSE system already offers a comprehensive range of available measured values around the conductor rope. This includes a highly accurate current measurement (+/-1A) as well as a voltage measurement (+/-1kV) with the derived quantities of phase angle and reactive power.

In order to meet the energy transition and the associated challenges for the infrastructure, Pfalzwerke Netz AG www.pfalzwerke-netz.de has successfully invested in the development of the low-power data transmission technology LoRaWAN.

Four different radio solutions are now available to the ASTROSE system, depending on the application environment and requirements, which are optimized in particular with regard to energy requirements, range and data throughput.

With an overhead transmission line length of over 33,000 km, TEN Thüringer Energienetze GmbH & Co. KG www.thueringer-energienetze.com is the largest distribution network operator in Thuringia. The company continuously deploys modern and efficient infrastructure to ensure grid stability and to meet the requirements of the associated grid expansion plan. As TEN is very interested in continuous monitoring of the overhead transmission line temperature, an ASTROSE pilot system will be installed in the Sömmerda area in autumn 2020. For validation and evaluation of the values measured by the wireless sensor nodes on the conductor, these values will be made available directly to the control center via the IEC60870-5-104 communication protocol.

For the qualification of the new generation of ASTROSE wireless sensors high voltage tests for the 380kV voltage level were carried out. The focus was on the dielectric strength of the entire system and the immunity to interference from partial discharges and transient processes such as lightning strikes or switching surges.

On July 1, 2020 the research project ASTROSE-MAGIC started with the partners DResearch Digital Media Systems GmbH, Pfalzwerke Netz AG, LTB Leitungsbau GmbH, TU Berlin and the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration. The project is partly funded for 3 years by the German government.

Within the research project ASTROSE-Vision wireless sensor nodes were developed, which can be equipped with up to 3 cameras (both sides and downwards) that can deliver images.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM in Bremen has a state-of-the-art ice laboratory with integrated wind tunnel. With temperatures down to -30°C and wind speeds of up to 350 km/h, unique working conditions and practical applications can be simulated.

Switzerland’s national power grid operator Swissgrid AG is the owner and sole operator of the 4200 miles of powerlines, 146 substations, and around 12000 pylons of the Alpine country’s 380kV and 220kV grid. This gives Swissgrid a lead role in Switzerland’s renewable energy revolution.