Introduction
SF6 is a powerful greenhouse gas used as insulative material in high-voltage applications. During the 2022-2023 school year, Dynamic Ratings sponsored senior design projects at Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marquette University to produce a solution to monitor and communicate SF6 gas leaks.
The Problem
SF6 is very efficient as an insulator due to its high resistance, yet it is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 23,500 times more potent than CO2 to the ozone layer. Therefore, utilities that use this gas in their high-voltage equipment must monitor and report any leaks. Currently, the process for documenting this requires a technician to manually record data. Dynamic Ratings tasked a team of collegiate engineers at both Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marquette University to create a safer, more efficient solution.
The Solution
Both groups used members’ strengths to create an innovative sensor design that captures data from the substation and communicates it with the utility, enabling them to meet their reporting needs and maintain grid reliability while reducing their operating cost. Dynamic Ratings would like to thank all the members of the MSOE and Marquette University Engineering Teams as well as thank WE Energies and American Transmission Company for their innovative participation in this project.
