This document is a summary of the main results of the activities carried out in the 2016 Annual Implementation Plan of the ‘Management, monitoring and control of the transmission grid’ project. The overall objective of the project is to study, develop and use innovative techniques for the management, monitoring and diagnostics of transmission grids, in order to assess their operating performance, including in relation to environmental conditions and the decisive influence they have on the grid.

The document includes an introductory chapter reporting the main national and international research programmes and the main objectives of the three-year project, followed by a description of the project structure. The document reports the main results, goals and motivations of the research, as well as the stages of its development and a brief summary of the activities carried out in the previous Annual Implementation Plan. This is followed by a brief description of the activities carried out in research and standardisation working groups at the national and international levels.

The summary of activities carried out in the 2016 Annual Implementation Plan covers the following topics:

Insulator contamination

• LASPRIS station for experimenting with polymeric insulators or different coatings(hydrophobic, hydrophilic, anti-static, self-cleaning catalytic, etc.) for applications in alternating current grids.The report describes the finalization of civil works, the installation of sample insulators (of different types) and the start of measurements using the RSE monitoring system. 

• AMICO DC device: in-field installation at Terna’s LANPRIS station and the start of measurements are described. A prototype was design of a new device capable of measuring the conductivity of the contaminant layer on surfaces similar to those of small-sized line ceramic pin insulators with measuring electrodes supplied with low voltage. It is currently being manufactured.

• Mapping the contamination level of air insulations over the national territory: this involves the participation of TERNA operators from Plant Units throughout Italy. The methods to carry out the new mapping were finalized (with the preparation of informative material). Following this phase was the installation of isolator chains at the more than 200 sites identified by RSE, the start of contaminant sampling and the analysis of samples at RSE laboratories.

• Monitoring of the level of contamination and degradation of line and station insulators and conducting laboratory checks on the degradation of insulators taken from lines and stations: the activity continues with the analysis of data from monitoring systems (ILCMS) of surface currents installed in stations and high voltage lines in order to compare the degradation over time, as a result of the aggressiveness of the environment and the action of sun radiation of the adopted mitigation solutions.

Measuring sensors and systems

• Experimentation of the pre-engineered system for electric field measurement on live components during live working by TERNA personnel at Terna’s test station in Viverone, on insulators in the presence of conductive defects.

• Development of in-line monitoring optical sensor systems for grid components: implementation of new sensor platforms with high performance in terms of dynamics and signal-to-noise ratio; optimisation and systematisation of the processing procedure of the optical platform and the sensitive interface with polymeric and functionalized film. 

• Capacitive field sensor: feasibility study of a capacitive electric field sensor for partial discharge detection to be integrated into a medium voltage joint.

• Design and realisation of the electro-optical field sensor: prototyping, assembly and an initial testing phase of the vector electro-optical (VIKTOR) electric field sensor capable of detecting impulsive fields with a very high frequency content. 

• Prototype of a system for the continuous monitoring of the ground clearance of overhead lines from a transmission tower: realisation of a discrete-component configuration of the system for technical validation of measures. Verifications of measurement sensitivity and repeatability.

Modeling

• Corona simulation code development: code consolidation, redoing of reference chemical databases and comparing electronic scattering data against experimental data. Verification of databases with a DC test case.

• Development of partial discharge simulation code: preliminary analysis of new algorithms to be implemented and first experimental validation tests with an isolated defect.

• Chemical modelling of polyethylene aging: first development of chemical models of polymeric materials aging: gas-phase chemical modelling at equilibrium.

Experimentation

• Accelerated aging of the paper-oil insulation system of a transformer: determination of the characteristics of the cycles and setting up the laboratory for comparisons between traditional and electrical and non-traditional optical methodologies.

• Development of transparent and conductive face masks for live protective equipment: manufacturing of prototypes for face masks and their testing in the HV laboratory in full conductive suits. Shielding measurements made with optical and dielectric (lithium niobate) electric field sensors. Presentation of results at the international level.

• Eye safesystem for measuring the ground clearance of overhead line conductors: field experimentation of the system on overhead lines at Terna’s Viverone test field and performance verification. Introduction ofsoftwaremodifications to increase contrast in backlight conditions.

Life cycle assessment

• Guidelines for LCA analysis of electrical grid components in Italy: drafting of guidelines for electrical grid component LCA.Life Cycle Inventory(LCI) of electricity generation in Italy. Design of a calculation methodology and tool for technology-fuel mix reconstruction.

Metrology

• Modeling and metrological characterization of inductive voltage transformers against harmonics: preliminary research activities aimed at verifying the model based on ODEs.

• Methodologies and instruments for calibration verification or IN-field and High Voltage calibration of energy measurement chains: continuation of the activity to verify the medium-term stability of the metrological characteristics of LiOnHV equipment for in-field verification of the accuracy of voltmeter transformers for energy measurements. 

• Realisation of a Stand-Alone Merging Unit (SAMU) prototype: outline design of aStand-Alone Merging Unitwith advanced capabilities.