Design and development of microcontroller-based temperature monitoring and control system for power plant generators

Abstract

Abstract The protection of turbine generator systems is an important factor that must be considered in power plant for efficient production of electricity. This project deals with temperature level monitoring of the power generator and it will be compared with the predetermined standard value through an LM35 sensor. Once it exceeds the predetermined value then the cooling fan will automatically turn on which will be useful to prevent the generator from internal winding thermal failure. The protection system consists of 16x2 LCD display, LM35 temperature sensor, a coolant fan and a microcontroller [ATMEGA328P]. The internal winding temperature of generator is increased as the turbine is rotated at its axis which may lead to major damages in the axial position and shafts of the power generator. To overcome this, an LM35 sensor is connected and linked with the microcontroller which monitors the temperature and once it exceeds the standard temperature the coolant fan automatically is turned on by the microcontroller and the heat of the steam will be countered by the cooling air produced by the coolant fan. The fan runs continuously until the temperature is sensed to have dropped below the standard temperature. At the same instances, the LCD display outputs readable current temperature parameters for the operator. The protection of power generator system is a vital component in power plant for efficient production of electricity.