Don Kelly wrote:

The problem is not the steam turbine/governor which responds relatively
quickly (much faster than a hydro machine), but likely in the reactor
dynamics and control. It appears that the machine was kicked off the system
and an uncontrolled shutdown occurred. Wiping of bearings can occur in
uncontrolled, coast slowly to a stop, shutdowns. It happened to "Big Ally"
in NYC in the '65 blackout.

Most college texts - at least in the past, when you were 13, didn't really
discuss synchronisation except for the general concept, nor the problem of
load sharing and the effects of governor "droop".

It is true that a heavier machine will respond more slowly for a given
accelerating power but this is a mixed blessing as it takes longer to bring
it under control and time is of the essence in considering system stability.
A smaller machine is more likely to swing rapidly but is normally easier
for the system to rein in (system impedances will affect this). I assume
that the experimental machine was fairly small as well as being weakly tied
to the system but there could well be other, control, problems with the
governor system and load sharing coordination.


It was a small, poorly designed grid in subzero weather. The plant
was built as a feasibility study to see how well a reactor would work in
that climate. It had been decommissioned just before I arrived, but I
knew the EEs and MEs who maintained it, since most of them had been
borrowed from the diesel powered plant that the reactor was supposed to
replace. The brick building was still there, right across the street
from my barracks.


As far as the textbooks they were published in '60 and '61, so I am
sure that there are a lot better text available 45 years later. Like
you said, they did cover the basics of how a power grid works, and how
they were synchronized. I think they were first and second year texts,
but they are long gone. I went into
high power RF and microwave communications instead of power generation
and distribution, but I still remember the basics.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida