Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 13 replies
  • Subscribers 32 subscribers
  • Views 2586 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

European Blackout - January 8th 2021

AncientMariner
Forgive me if this posted elsewhere here, but just came across the following on a Time Dissemination forum I frequent from a German poster.

On Jan.8, 13:04:54 UTC, the european grid frequency dropped from 50.0269Hz to a minimum of 49.7343Hz 13.4sec later, see fig 1 below, plot starting at 13:00, x-axis in sec. .

As a result southeast Europe was split from the rest, the frontier crossing the Balkan countries, see
https://www.entsoe.eu/news/2021/01/15/system-separation-in-the-continental-europe-synchronous-area-on-8-january-2021-update/

At 13:42:35 the western frequency was back at the 50Hz level, some time later they managed to resync the east and reconnected. Reasons are still under examination. A high western demand faced a southeastern production, so after the split the western frequency went down, the eastern frequency went up.

At 79/50 sec. after the event the primary control kicked in at 49.9035Hz and brought it up again to 49.9308 but eventually failed, see fig   2. below.

In the 13. hour that day they failed to deliver 112 sinewaves. Now ENTSO-E has to decide: readjust the wall clocks in Berlin or Athens?   )

Reportedly at a frequency below 49.8Hz big loads, like pumps for reservoirs or industrial customers are switched off automatically.

In 2011 the German Government launched a scenario for a blackout, detailed as a script:
https://www.tab-beim-bundestag.de/en/publications/books/petermann-etal-2011-141.html


Clive
f78d55e118b9b0d15fb9e7890397a312-huge-fig1.pngc
780060cda814b163f7e49f3827bd2f76-huge-fig2.png
Parents
  • 0
    Interesting, links, thanks, it reads rather as if the separation was automatic in response to an 'off frequency' condition. I am wondering if the reason is actually the large currents that flow between zones trying to run at different speeds, where the offset translates to a large out of phase power flow, rather than the change in frequency itself. (or at least things need to be set 'twitchy' because of this.)

    One of the issues with replacing traditional large spinning generators with lots of inertia with non-inertial  things like solar panels with inverters, is that the link between overload and frequency is weakened, and automatic systems that use the frequency to decide when to disconnect are likely to be more easily confused, It is possible to program an inverter (well a non-commutating type) to mimic the frequency falling under load, but the dynamics are not really the same.


    Anyone interested in the UK mains frequency may find  This UK mains measuring site interesting.

    And the fact that the jumpy nature f it can be  used to date audio recordings,  (see here)much like tree rings in ships timbers can be matched to  the weather records or a particular century to date them.

    M.
Reply
  • 0
    Interesting, links, thanks, it reads rather as if the separation was automatic in response to an 'off frequency' condition. I am wondering if the reason is actually the large currents that flow between zones trying to run at different speeds, where the offset translates to a large out of phase power flow, rather than the change in frequency itself. (or at least things need to be set 'twitchy' because of this.)

    One of the issues with replacing traditional large spinning generators with lots of inertia with non-inertial  things like solar panels with inverters, is that the link between overload and frequency is weakened, and automatic systems that use the frequency to decide when to disconnect are likely to be more easily confused, It is possible to program an inverter (well a non-commutating type) to mimic the frequency falling under load, but the dynamics are not really the same.


    Anyone interested in the UK mains frequency may find  This UK mains measuring site interesting.

    And the fact that the jumpy nature f it can be  used to date audio recordings,  (see here)much like tree rings in ships timbers can be matched to  the weather records or a particular century to date them.

    M.
Children
No Data

Community Rules & Guidelines