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Australian Power Quality Research Centre

Capabilities

The strength of the Centre comes from its wide ranging expertise in both power systems and customer loads, its strong contacts with industry and its knowledge of international research efforts. The Centre operates a modern laboratory with equipment and instrumentation necessary to undertake a range of investigations into both power systems and equipment behaviour.

The Centre offers a consultancy service as well as continuing education courses. The Centre has expertise and experience in the following areas: -

  • Power Quality - standards, instrumentation, monitoring, analysis, reporting, improvement, equipment behaviour
  • Harmonic Studies - modelling, analysis, mitigation, instrumentation
  • Voltage Sags - modelling and analysis
  • Transients - modelling and analysis
  • Conducted EMI
  • Distribution system reliability
  • Renewable energy systems

The Centre has extensive consulting experience and has provided consultancy services to some of Australia's largest manufacturing companies and electricity utilities. The Centre provides expert advice and consulting in the areas of

  • Investigation and resolution of power quality problems
  • Power quality monitoring for compliance with standards and regulations, including harmonic and flicker studies
  • Connection agreements
  • Harmonic and flicker allocation studies
  • Voltage sag studies
  • Interpretation of power quality standards
  • Routine power quality monitoring
  • Power quality data analysis and reporting
  • General power monitoring
  • Distribution system reliability
  • Equipment power quality immunity testing to national and international standards
  • Equipment performance testing
  • Conducted EMI

Simple telephone/email enquiries will be dealt with free of charge. More extensive investigations will be charged at commercial rates.

Contact Person on consulting/technical advice:

Please contact Mr Sean Elphick for any consulting or technical advice
Phone: 02 4221 4737

The Centre has provided consultancy services to the following organisations:

  • Agility
  • AGL
  • Alinta
  • Aurora Energy
  • Ausgrid (formerly EnergyAustralia)
  • Australia Post
  • BHP Billiton
  • Blue Circle Southern Cement
  • Bluescope Steel
  • Boyne Smelters
  • Bradken
  • CHK Engineering
  • Country Energy
  • Endeavour Energy (formerly Integral Energy)
  • Energex
  • Ergon Energy
  • esaa
  • Genesis Energy (NZ)
  • Incitec
  • Metal Manufacturers
  • NSW Fair Trading
  • Powercor
  • Powerlink
  • Qenos
  • Rheem Australia
  • SA Power Networks (formerly ETSA)
  • SP AusNet
  • Standards Australia
  • Telstra
  • Transend Networks
  • TransGrid
  • Tycan Australia
  • United Energy
  • Western Power

The Centre prepares courses at undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing education levels. Regular continuing education courses are delivered on the following topics: -

  • Quality of Electrical Supply
  • Electrical Drive Systems
  • Power Quality from an Energy Managers Perspective

Workshops on Australian and International Standards are also available. Specially tailored courses on various aspects of power engineering can be arranged upon request (minimum numbers apply).

The Centre specialises in developing inexpensive but powerful software simulation tools to accompany its courses.

For further information and enquiries please visit our training page or contact the Power Quality and Reliability Centre.

The Centre operates a number of laboratories for teaching and research purposes. Teaching laboratories contain modern specialised equipment for teaching subjects such as power systems, drives and renewable energy systems.

The Power Quality and Renewable Energy Research Laboratory has a range of equipment useful for a broad range of research. This includes power quality immunity testing of equipment and evaluation of equipment performance characteristics. Hardware is complimented by advanced software packages allowing simulation and analysis. Key equipment for the laboratory includes:

  • California Instruments 30 kVA programmable arbitrary waveform generator (including Omni Impedance Network). To view details of the capabilities of this device see the 
  • 100 kW, 3000rpm, 1000Nm 4-quadrant dynamic dynamometer
  • dc to 1 MHz 3-phase harmonic analyser
  • dc to 2.5kHz single-phase portable harmonic analyser
  • Conducted EMI measuring equipment up to 64 A, 3 phase, near field E-H field probes
  • Low frequency magnetic field measuring equipment
  • 5 PM30, 1 PM40 and 3 PM45 Power Quality Monitoring Instruments
  • 2 Hioki 3196, and 3 Hioki 3198 Power Quality Analysers
  • 1 Dranetz PowerXplorer PX5 Power Quality Monitoring Instrument
  • 1 Elspec BLACKBOX Portable Power Quality Analyzer
  • 100 pF, 100 kV standard capacitor and 1000:1 voltage divider
  • 3 x 5 kW Terra Solar Array Simulators
  • 3 x 4.5 kW Chroma Electronic Loads
  • Energy storage systems for distributed generation research
  • Various software packages such as PSCAD/EMTDC, PSS/E and DigSilent

Strong Links with Industry

The focus of the APQRC is to work in conjunction with industry to improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply for the benefit of all consumers.

Wind turbines at Gunning Wind Farm