Power and Energy - European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP)

Power and Energy - project partners

Bundesamt für Euch- und Vermessungswesen (BEV, Austria): BEV will be highly focused on an area where they are world leading, namely the design of current shunts. BEV has several years of experience in manufacturing high current coaxial foil-shunts. They have constructed shunts for the use in AC-DC current transfer measurements over a wide range of currents and frequencies with an AC-DC transfer difference small enough to meet the requirements of the project. Their expertise is ideally suited to the development of some of the transducers required to meet the demands of power grid based metrology.
Centro Espanol de Metrologiia (CEM Spain): In collaboration with the Polytechnical University of Malaga, CEM has recently developed a new digital sampling standard through a National Project. The system is based on a high precision power source, two new IVDs up to 1 000 V, for low frequency, 50 Hz and for high frequency, 400 Hz - 1 kHz, specially designed by NL Engineering for CEM, a set of coaxial shunts from Mendelejev Institute, two sampling multimeters. CEM is able to use both synchronous and asyncronous digital sampling techniques in order to carry out measurement of power using modern digital signal processing. CEM's contribution to this JRP is highly focussed on asynchronous sampling methods and power quality algorithm development where its detailed experience will be applied.
Cesky metrologicky institut (CMI, Czech Republic): CMI has several tens of years of wide experience in the measurement of electrical quantities. In particular they will be focused on impedance measurement, AC-DC transfer and AC power and power quality measurements. CMI will also be contributing to current transducer development and characterisation in this project and has ample experience in measurements of high currents and voltages at 50 Hz and also in the audio frequency range. They have expertise in the calibration of a wide range of transducers, including current and voltage transformers, capacitive dividers, Rogowski coils and clamp ammeters. They are building on this experience to develop new methods of calibration of current and voltage transducers used in power grids. Recently they have developed a special inductive divider, the use of which will decrease uncertainties in voltage transformer calibration.
Institutul National de Metrologie (INM, Romania): INM is focused on the task of modelling and measuring the effects of system impedance on power quality, where its experience in the measurement of impedances within the audio frequency range can be applied with great effect. The development of appropriate mathematical models for the influence that distorted waveforms have on impedances is one of their priorities in their effort to provide the industry with reliable quantitative descriptions of the effects that various impedances can have on the quality of electrical energy.
Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM, Italy): For many years the laboratory for AC-DC transfer and power of INRIM has developed methods and systems, based on sampling, specifically oriented to high precision electrical metrology. Projects aiming at assembling new types of electronic systems in this field have been pursued both for the generation of ac voltages and for the measurement of voltage, current, power, complex voltage ratio and phase. The laboratory has also investigated the characterisation of digital to analogue converters and analogue to digital converters for the measurement of generic signals (distorted and non periodic). They have expertise in both hardware (design of analog and digital circuits for sampling) and software (algorithms for signal processing). INRIM has also developed considerable expertise in the field of design and characterisation of transducers for high voltage and current and has taken part in international comparisons of high voltages and currents carried out in the framework of EUROMET. Research projects focused on traceability and verification of instrument transformers in the high voltage grid have been recently developed in collaboration with Italian private and public companies of the electro-energy sector. In addition, INRIM has significant know-how in the setting-up and use of numerical tools for the design and optimization of electromagnetic devices.
Justervesenet (JV, Norway): JV has good experience in the modeling and design of precision analogue components and especially shunts for precision AC-DC current transfer. A complete set of calculable wideband AC-DC current shunts for currents up to 10 A has been designed and produced, and will be delivered to 9 NMIs worldwide towards the end of 2007. A national regulation in Norway from January 2005 makes demands on the electricity owners to measure and document the power quality in their networks. As a consequence JV currently works with developing the knowledge of and establishing its own traceability in power and power quality. The tasks of development and characterization of advanced digitizers required for the Power and Energy project agree well with specialist fields of JV.
Laboratoire National de métrologie et D'Essais (LNE, France): For decades LNE has acquired a long experience on signal processing techniques and methods relevant to the algorithm development required for the accurate measurement of the type of complex signals occurring on the power grid. LNE has developed digital sampling wattmeter standard, digital phase meter and very low-frequency voltage measurements set-up. As other NMIs, LNE has also a well-known expertise on ac/dc transfer standards and measurements which will be of great help in this area for establishing traceability of sampling voltage measurements as required for the project. LNE, formerly LCIE, has a well known long experience in the field of high voltage and high current (current and voltage transformers, high voltage capacitance standards, lightning impulses, electrostatic discharge generators). They have designed, developed and characterised reference measurement systems and have recently begun the characterization of a prototype used for high impulse currents.
Das Bundesamt für Metrologie (METAS, Switzerland): Since 2000, METAS has been successfully using a programmable voltage standard based on both SNS (first laboratory in Europe) and SINIS arrays. METAS has almost ten years of experience in the field of ac coaxial bridges and high precision measuring techniques at low frequencies. METAS successfully participated in different international comparisons in the ac field. Furthermore, METAS has recently developed two different sampling systems: the first one is a system to measure single phase electrical power and is based on a modified 3458A DVM. The second sampling system uses a high resolution DSP PXI board and is dedicated to impedance comparison and to develop a new ac voltage standard. The goal is to develop a Josephson Voltage Standard Locked Sinewaves Synthesizer having an uncertainty smaller than 0.5 ppm at a few hundred hertz. Therefore METAS has all the equipment and expertise to successfully contribute to the project and more precisely in the characterization of digitisers.
Mittatekniikan keskus (MIKES, Finland): MIKES has a long experience in sampling techniques for electrical measurements. For more than 10 years, MIKES has had an operational setup for electrical power as well as for high voltage and voltage ratio at 50 Hz, based on sampling techniques. In addition to RMS, the ac peak value needed for calibration of high voltage test equipment is covered. We have successfully participated key comparisons in electrical power as well as high-voltage bilateral comparisons at 100 kV level, where the first supplementary comparison is under preparation. The present national metrology programme in Finland on power and energy focuses on providing on-site power and power quality services not only on low voltage in the calibration laboratory, but also on-site on high voltage up to 100 kV. To achieve that goal MIKES will provide a portable three-phase sampling system to be used for on-site calibration. Further, they will extend the state of the art of high alternating current - up to 10 kA - calibration capabilities both in laboratory conditions and on-site. These two tasks will lead them towards the possible provision of an on-site calibration service also for power and power quality, up to 100 kV and/or up to10 kA.
National Physical Laboratory (NPL, UK): NPL has been involved in digital sampling technology since the early 1980s when it developed its first digital sampling wattmeter and the associated theory for power measurements by digital sampling. Several generations of digitiser design have since been developed, the most recent optimized for non-sinusoidal power measurements. A high frequency power measurement capability up to 100 kHz has also been developed. Recently NPL have concentrated their effort on Power Quality and have developed calibration facilities for harmonics and flicker analyzers, experience which will be used in creating a harmonised methodology for power quality measurements throughout Europe. This work has involved extensive algorithm development and the use of DSP techniques, which will be required for the processing of the types of complex signals associated with power grid based measurements. NPL also has a leading mathematics group with experience in modelling and uncertainty analysis relevant to the study of uncertainty propagation through the required algorithms and transforms for advanced power quality measurements.
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB, Germany): PTB has been a pioneer in the field of alternating (ac) power & energy measurements for almost a century. PTB staff has published a considerable number of peer reviewed papers, participated in conferences and cooperated with leading measuring instrument manufacturers in Germany. Recently PTB reached the lowest possible uncertainties worldwide in ac power measurements. PTB aims at improving accuracy and providing harmonisation of measurement methods and procedures in the field of ac power and power quality measurements by applying modern numerical methods of signal processing allied to hardware development.
Urad Republike Slovenije (MIRS, Slovenia) / Slovenski institut za kakovost in meroslovje (SIQ, Slovenia): MIRS/SIQ has experience in sampling techniques for power measurement for more than 6 years that are relevant to the asynchronous sampling work needed for the measurement of signals on the power grid. They have developed their own sampling software for the measurement of power at 50 Hz (voltage up to 700 V and current up to 50 A). They participated in Euromet key comparisons in power. They also have experience in current shunts development and their own current shunts are their reference standards in ac current measurements. MIRS/SIQ has specific expertise in mathematical modelling techniques which it will contribute to algorithm development and in the characterisation of transducers.
Slovensky metrologicky ustav (SMU, Slovakia): The SMU Centre of electricity has 39 years experience in metrology research. At the laboratory of low frequency quantities an original standard of power and energy with highly accurate metrological parameters has been developed. The standard was successfully compared with the other national standards in a EUROMET intercomparison. SMU has specific experience in high current sensors and there are available facilities and high-qualified workers for the development and characterisation of an on-site, high current measuring system.
Sveriges Tekniska Forsjningsinstitut (SP, Sweden): SP has long experience of research in power and power quality measurements. The research has for example concerned calibration systems for field calibration of voltage transformers in the high voltage grid, power measurement techniques for non-sinusoidal conditions and a calibration system for instrument transformers with digital output. All of these are highly relevant to this Power and Energy project. Moreover, they have designed and manufactured a digital sampling wattmeter with triggering circuitry and wideband voltage dividers and current shunts with very low phase angle errors. They also have a well equipped high voltage and current laboratory. Their high voltage experts are actively participating in international standardisation work. They were leading the iMERA roadmapping process for power.
Trescal: The experience gained over more than a decade as primary laboratory for AC-DC voltage and current transfer difference measurements is transferred naturally to the field of low frequency power measurements, where precise voltage and current measurements are of vital importance. They are a fully commercial metrology institute, and efforts to meet demands for power measurements at higher frequencies as well as servicing manufacturers of digitisers on a regular basis in Denmark, provides the necessary experience and contacts to work on the project tasks of developing advanced digitisers and to introduce a harmonised power quality calibration methodology throughout Europe. This is a small but intensively applied contribution where their high frequency expertise can make a big impact.
Van Swinden Laboratorium (VSL, Netherlands): VSL has ample experience in sampling techniques for power measurement. For more than 10 years, VSL has an operational setup for primary power at 50 Hz, based on sampling techniques. We successfully participated in Euromet key comparisons in this area. The present national metrology programme in the Netherlands on power and energy focuses on extending the range of the digitisers for power applications to frequencies up to 1 MHz, characterization of digitisers with an AC quantum Josephson voltage standard, and on the measurement of impedance up to 1 MHz which is a crucial prerequisite for current shunt characterization.