By Mahmood Sheikh
July 2006
Training Outline
Why DC Power & not AC Power? Basic Electrical Theory The Elements of a Power System Current Flow in a DC System Battery Management DC System Redundancy DC System Sizing
Why DC Power?
Provide a reliable power supply for the telecom industry.
All telecom equipment (PABX, P.O.P sites, Base Stations, Main Switching Centers etc) must operate when the AC supply (mains power) is absent. The telecom equipment must be supplied by stored energy (e.g. batteries) while the AC supply is absent.
A filter for noise (EMC, surges etc) present on the AC power lines.
Telecom equipment can be damaged by EMC, surges and spikes etc which can be present on AC Power. A DC power system filters this noise and provides a clean, safe power source for the telecom equipment.
Why DC Power?
To monitor and control the system and provide alarms in case of failure.
A wide range of alarms can be monitored by the DC system in order to ensure an efficient and reliable power source.
To regulate the system in order to achieve long lifetime and MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure) of the complete supply and back-up system.
DC systems can use temperature compensated charging. This ensures the optimum battery charging voltage according to the ambient temperature and prolongs the life of the batteries.
Water Analogy
A DC power system can be easily explained using a simple water Analogy as follows..
A dam in a river is a good representation of a battery. The pressure across the dam represents the voltage of the battery A pump that pumps the water into the dam is a good representation of a rectifier that pumps current into a battery. The water represents the current in an electrical circuit.
The pipe (cable) that the water (current) flows through is a good representation of resistance.
Water Analogy
Water = CURRENT
Pump =
RECTIFIER Dam =
Pipe = RESISTANCE
BATTERY
Power (P) = Voltage (V) x Current (I) Energy Energy (J) = Power (P) x Time (t)
J P t
AC SWITCH BOARD
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
G
DIESEL GENERATOR
LVBD
RECT #n
1000 >
LARGE
10000 >
BATTERY DISTRIBUTION
Rectifiers
The rectifier is the unit which converts the AC into DC.
AC Mains Input
~AC
Rectifier
=DC
DC Output
Batteries The batteries are where the energy is stored for use when the AC mains fail.
Battery Distribution Fuses or circuit breakers for protection of individual battery banks against short circuit.
AC Mains Input
~AC
=DC
=DC
~AC
AC Output
Rectifier
Inverter
Battery
UPS
=DC
Inverter
~AC
AC Output
Telecom Equipment The essential equipment for various telecom applications which is normally fed by DC power.
AC Loads Equipment requiring an AC input.
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
BATTERY BANK
AC INPUT
RECTIFIER SYSTEM
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
BATTERY BANK
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
BATTERY BANK
Mains Resume
Float charge
Battery Discharge
Battery Recharge
Current Limitation
Batteries
Why DC Power and not DC Power? Basic Electrical Theory The Elements of a Power System Current Flow in a DC System Battery Management DC System Redundancy DC System Sizing
Battery Definitions
Cell A cell is 2V consisting of a positive plate a separator and a negative plate. This is where the chemical reaction takes place. Smaller battery blocks can consist of more than one cell (e.g. 12V or 6V blocks)
2V
Battery Block / Monoblock This is the physical block, the container where the cells are housed. Battery blocks can have multiple cells (e.g. 12V, 6V or 2V monoblocks etc).
12V OR 6V OR 2V
Battery Definitions
Battery Bank A group of battery cells connected in series to obtain the required voltage (normally -48V in telecoms). A bank is able to be isolated as an individual bank.
MCB
String A group of battery cells connected in series to obtain the required voltage. These groups of cells are then connected in parallel increase the capacity, however maintain the required voltage. There maybe multiple strings in a single bank
String 1
MCB String 2
C h
C10 Capacity is normally specified at a 10 hour discharge rate. Therefore C10 means the normal capacity referred to after a 10 hour discharge. Capacity can however refer to a longer rate (C8 or C20 for example).
2.24 2.22
-10 0 10 20 30 40
Lifetime Vs Temperature
25
20
15
10
0 20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Capacity (%)
0
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
Time (Months)
DC System Redundancy
Why DC Power and not DC Power? Basic Electrical Theory The Elements of a Power System Current Flow in a DC System Battery Management DC System Redundancy DC System Sizing
Redundancy
Why have Redundancy? To cater for inevitable failure within the DC system. To allow for planned and unplanned system maintenance . Pros and Cons of Redundancy There are various levels of redundancy, as the redundancy is increased the system reliability is increased, however so is the system cost! Types of Redundancy Entire DC System Rectifier Module Battery
~AC
=DC
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
~AC
=DC
~AC
=DC
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
High Reliability
Parallel Battery Strings for to support 50A DC System B
~AC
=DC
~AC
=DC
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
High Reliability
Parallel Battery Strings for to support 50A DC System B
~AC
Rectifier System B to support 50A load plus battery recharge power
=DC
Rectifier Redundancy
N+1 in Normal Operation Assuming the AC power has just returned after a mains failure, the rectifiers will be feeding the load and charging the batteries. In addition to this there will be 1 completely redundant rectifier.
30A 30A 30A 30A
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
30A
Redundant Module
BATTERY BANK
Recharge = 15A
Rectifier Redundancy
N+1 with one Rectifier Failure There is now no spare rectifier power. Only just enough to feed the load and recharge the batteries.
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
BATTERY BANK
Recharge = 15A
Rectifier Redundancy
N+1 with two Rectifier Failures No capacity available for battery recharge. The rectifiers are now not able to supply the load by themselves. The battery is slowly discharging and the standby time is reducing.
30A 30A
TELECOM EQUIPMENT
Load = 100A
30A
BATTERY BANK
Battery Slowly Discharging
DC System Sizing
Why DC Power and not DC Power? Basic Electrical Theory The Elements of a Power System Current Flow in a DC System Battery Management DC System Redundancy DC System Sizing
IR =
IL * 1.15 * TS TR
IL
1.15 TS TR
= Load Current
= Battery Coefficient = Standby Time = Recharge Time
IL + IR
IL IR
How Many Rectifier Modules? Divide the total system size by the output of the chosen rectifier module. Then add the desired number of redundant rectifiers.
Eltek
Excellence in Telecom Power