Nathan IDA
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Akron, USA
Research interests:
computational electromagnetics, nondestructive evaluation of materials, wave propagation in materials, scattering antennas, electromagnetic compatibility, computer algorithms and computer methods
Keynote address:
Instrumentation of Transmission line Towers for Real-Time Conditions Monitoring
Abstract:
A program of power line and transmission tower monitoring based on industry-identified needs is described. The program involves research and development of means and sensors to monitor conditions on the line and external effects on the operation of the lines. The purpose is the development of a system of real time alert of a number of conditions that can initiate faults. These include monitoring of structural integrity of transmission towers, lightning strikes to towers and lines, intrusion and vandalism, on-line asset monitoring and others. In all, 10 priorities identified through a survey of transmission line operators are or will be addressed in order of importance. This involves development of sensing strategies and supporting circuits to sense, process and transfer data to central locations for decision-making. All sensors and circuits will be powered through energy harvesting on-site and data transmitted through a wi-fi based wireless network. The system is exhaustive in that each tower will be equipped with the same set of sensors and processors so that much of the data processing will be done locally and only significant data transferred for further processing and possible maintenance decisions. The primary component in the system is an emission-based board and associated algorithms that can detect, process and interpret a variety of conditions including changes in corona due to malfunction of insulators and emissions from damaged sections of lines. This is complemented by a number of sensing strategies. A non-intrusive tower mechanical integrity sensor based on monitoring the impedance changes in the tower has been developed and tested as was a lightning strike sensor that combines current and vibration sensors to identify lightning strike to towers and lines and pinpoint the nearest tower to the strike. A major problem for transmission line operators is intrusion and vandalism, particularly gun shots to lines and insulators. Hence, a gun shot detector and algorithms for correlation with types of guns and distance was developed to address this issue. The line asset condition sensor is a high frequency impedance sensor that monitors the lines themselves for conditions such as splices corrosion and damage in overhead, underground and DC rail systems.
Nathan IDA is Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. His current research interests are in the areas of numerical modeling of electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic wave propagation, theoretical issues in computation, nondestructive testing of materials at low and microwave frequencies as well as in communications, especially in low power remote control and wireless sensing. Dr. Ida has published some 260 papers on electromagnetic field computation, parallel and vector algorithms and computation, nondestructive testing of materials, surface impedance boundary conditions, electromagnetic and microwave sensors and others. He has written six books, two on computation of electromagnetic fields a third on nondestructive testing with microwaves, a textbook on electromagnetics, now in its third edition, a monograph on surface impedance boundary conditions and a textbook on sensors and actuators. Born in Romania in 1949, he received his BSEE and MSEE from the Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel in 1977 and 1979 respectively. In 1983 he received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Dr. Ida is a Fellow of the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) a Fellow of the American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) and a Fellow of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society ACES). Dr. Ida teaches Electromagnetics, Antenna Theory and Electromagnetic Compatibility and Sensing and Actuation.
Dr. Ida is a Fellow of the Institute of Electric and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) a Fellow of the American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) and a Fellow of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society ACES). Dr. Ida teaches Electromagnetics, Antenna Theory and Electromagnetic Compatibility and Sensing and Actuation.
