Page 9 - Issue 4 2023

NEWS

Beating the odds in difficult manufacturing project

&C recently manufactured four new field coils and poles A crucial part of the whole process was the design and
for a 25 MVA generator at a hydroelectric power station manufacture of the tooling and jigs required for the manufacture
Min Cameroon. The new field coils and poles were needed of the coils and poles. The parts were manufactured at the
because the originals had been stolen from a 24 600 kVA 36-pole company’s Power Generation & Large Motor facility in Benoni,
generator in the 264 MW Edéa power station on the Sanaga River having prepared the necessary designs mainly on the strength of
near the town of Edéa in Cameroon. the photographs they had been provided with.
The client provided rough dimensions, which necessitated The contract was completed on schedule at the end of
a visit to the power station by two of the firm’s senior technical September.
staff-members to obtain more accurate dimensions and useful
photographic evidence.
The need to physically visit the power station to obtain
accurate dimensions and photographs, together with a complex
field coil design, added to the difficulty in manufacturing the
replacement parts.
The complex field coil design consisted of a double-bank series
coil with a unique method of connection between the north
and south poles. Another unusual feature was that the copper
dimensions required on-edge bending to wind a continuous coil.
Although the company is often called upon to manufacture
items by applying reverse engineering procedures when the OEM’s
design drawings for the equipment are unavailable, they are
usually able to gain access to the original component itself to work Technician Leonard Currie is shown testing one of the salient pole coils that M&C
from, but not in this case since the original parts had been stolen. manufactured for a generator at a hydroelectric power station in Cameroon.

Energy storage systems now available to hire

and Air recently added the new generator, operators can reduce fuel bills sensitive environments such as events,
ZenergiZe ZBC 250 to 500 kVA significantly by alternating between the filmmaking, shopping centres, etc.
Rbattery energy storage system energy storage unit and a generator. In At the heart of this powerful and
to its hire fleet. The company says that addition to consuming less fuel, running compact unit are high-density lithium-
although the energy storage unit cannot the generator for shorter periods will also ion batteries which are capable of
replace grid power completely, it would reduce machine wear and subsequently providing over twelve hours of power.
offer a clean, reliable, and efficient maintenance and related costs. The batteries are lighter in weight than
short-term solution where grid power is The unit is noiseless in operation, other technologies and the overall unit
intermittent. requires virtually no maintenance, is 70% more compact than alternatives.
The unit can be used in combination and is particularly suitable in noise- This adds to effortless transportation
with a generator and also has the ability and installation of the system.
to manage energy generated from The unit incorporates a number
intermittent renewable energy sources, of connectivity features and benefits
offering a hybrid power solution for a including a smart start-and-stop
wide range of industries. Moreover, function, an Energy Management
micro-grids can be created to provide System (EMS) complete with battery
energy to residential, commercial, management communication (BMS), a
industrial or public service applications. remote monitoring system, a Bluetooth
Although the escalating price of diesel mobile application as well as a parking
is pushing up the costs of running a mode.

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