As annals show, the first hydroelectric power plants were built in Russia in 1802 – 1806. During the Soviet period of energy development, emphasis was placed on the special role of the country’s unified national economic electrification plan — GOELRO, which was approved on December 22, 1920. The chapter of the plan dedicated to hydropower was entitled "Electrification and water energy".

In today’s Russia about 1/3 of power is produced at hydroelectric power plants. Accordingly, there arise issues of advanced training of personnel of hydroelectric power plants, which can be provided by the introduction of simulators for targeted training of personnel to work, both in normal modes and in pre-emergency and emergency situations, as close as possible to real ones. Unfortunately, the developers of simulators in the Russian energy sector have so far focused on creating simulators for thermal power plants, leaving hydroelectric power plants neglected. It can therefore be assumed that this article, which examines a simulator with dynamic computer mimic diagrams of hydraulic units and electrical circuits of one of the Russian hydroelectric power plants, will arouse some interest among readers of the journal and potential customers. The article describes a prototype facility, the composition of the simulator, which includes a model of the facility and operating modes, a model of the control system, a model of the protection system, a model of locks, a model of emergency and warning alarms, describes in detail the training and methodological support of the simulator complex, including models of training scenarios, an input model, a monitoring program, protocols and instructions.

The hydroelectric power plant simulator presented in the article is versatile and can be applied both as a means of training and examination of operational personnel, and as a means for conducting professional skills competitions.

Specifics of the functioning of the electric grid company over the period of its activity in 2016 – 2022 are considered. Based on the publicly available data, an analysis of the structural features of the company, as well as the electric energy balance for its transmission to and from the company's networks, taking into account losses arising during the electricity transportation to consumers, was carried out. The characteristics of generating capacity, as well as the number of substations on the Trans-Baikal Territory and in the Republic of Buryatia are presented, their age assessment is given. The level of electricity consumption is analyzed, as well as the structural composition of consumers receiving electric energy through the company's networks. Based on available information about emergency situations, the number of failures that occurred in the company's networks during the period under study, as well as the causes of those failures, were analyzed. It has been established that the greatest number of failures is associated with the wear of electrical grid equipment, which causes a collision of wires of overhead power lines, their breakage, as well as the breakdown of high-voltage insulators. The percentage ratio of the main causes of failures in the company's electrical networks has been determined. Based on the use of Matlab graphic editor technologies, the visualization of the analyzed dependencies was carried out, which enabled to have a demonstration of changes in the number of failures, the amount of under-supplied electrical energy, as well as economic damage from this under-supply. Graphical diagrams are presented and a detailed analysis of the causes of emergency events for the current half of 2022 is given. Reversible malfunctions (unstable failures) are noted, and their share in the total volume of emergency situations is determined. Recommendations have been developed for the company specialists to improve the reliability of power supply. The results obtained can be useful both to the management and specialists of the company in question, as well as to scientific and technical workers and engineering personnel engaged in research in the field of improving the reliability and safety of functioning of electric power systems.

The reliable and economical operation of equipment for thermal power plants, heat supply systems and boiler houses has been a relevant problem in the field of thermal power engineering for many years. In many industries, industrial steam is often used, for which steam boilers are used at thermal power plants. The water consumed by the boilers undergoes pre-treatment, which, in addition to its softening, includes thermal deaeration — the removal of aggressive gases that lead to equipment corrosion. Atmospheric deaerators are often used for this purpose. They are easy to use, quite effective, but have a disadvantage — a considerable amount of heat is lost with the removed flash steam. The article is dedicated to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of the technology for additional heating of return system water using deaerator steam and considering a method for improving the efficiency of atmospheric deaeration by partial closure of flash steam output in boiler plants. The paper presents a calculation of the scheme of operation of a deaeration plant, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the boiler house of the AB InBev Efes brewery in Ulyanovsk due to additional heating of return system water with atmospheric deaerator flash steam. The article also discusses the scheme of operation of an atmospheric deaerator, in which the flash steam will be discharged into the atmosphere only if it is necessary to remove aggressive gases. Thanks to the developed scheme, when the deaerator operates with a closed flash steam removal pipeline and without being fed with chemically purified water, the consumption of industrial steam is reduced, especially with a significant return of condensate, which increases the efficiency of the entire boiler room as a whole. According to preliminary calculations, assuming the average return of condensate from production per day of about 300 m3, the production steam savings will be 0.8 tons.

In general, in the Russian Federation, there is a negative trend towards an increase in the share of dilapidated heating networks, a decline in the reliability of heat supply, which is caused by underfunding in terms of repair costs included in the heat tariff. Currently, there is no methodology for determining the amount of economically justified repair costs in the legislation on tariff regulation in heat supply. In the case of underestimation of repair costs in the tariff compared to the objectively necessary value, the problem arises of inadequate repair of the heat and power facilities, which leads to a critical deterioration in the reliability of heat supply. If, on the other hand, repair costs are overstated, the tariff for thermal energy increases unreasonably, or (when the limit index of growth in the utility bills is reached), other items of expenses of heat supply organizations would unreasonably decrease. The assessment of the validity of including repair costs in heat tariffs was carried out on the example of several heat supply organizations based on data from heat supply arrangement and the Federal State Information System "Unified Information and Analytical System “Federal Regulatory Authority — Regional Regulatory Authorities — Regulatory Entities". The actual distribution of repair costs in different heat supply organizations does not depend on the composition or quantity of equipment, nor is it justified methodologically. The calculation of the required amount of repair costs is multifactorial, but its components are mostly based on installed capacity, the quantity of heat and power equipment, and the length of heating networks. It is therefore necessary to develop a methodology for determining the required amount of repair costs to be included in the thermal energy tariff.

Transformers are critical elements of electrical networks and systems. The operational reliability of oil-filled transformers largely depends on the characteristics of the insulation, which is confirmed by the failure statistics. A number of factors affecting the insulation of electrical machines are identified, including excessive moisture, with its negative consequences outlined. The complexity and shortcomings of the use of traditional technologies for drying solid insulation are indicated, which focus on the search and implementation of the latest technologies in the system of maintenance and repair of transformers — automated insulation restoration systems (AIRS).

Taking into account the development of technical progress in the field of service maintenance of transformers, the negative impact of moisture on the reliability, durability and overload capacity of electrical machines, especially those beyond their normal service life, a new look at the criteria for the moisture content of cellulose insulation is proposed. A review is made of the normative requirements for the moisture content of the insulation of oil-filled transformers of a number of Russian and foreign standards. On the basis of the Oommen equilibrium curves, the shortcomings of the lack of comparability of the humidity criteria for solid and liquid insulation in STO 34.01–23.1– 001–2017 and RD 34.45–51.300–97 are presented. It is proposed to single out several areas of the operational state of transformers in terms of “moisture content of solid insulation (paper)”. The optimal period for the use of AIRS has been determined.

The AIRS technology is implemented in a TRANSEC module, which enables to carry out work under load, without adversely affecting predictive diagnostics. The design features of the TRANSEC module, the principle of operation, functional and design differences from standard transformer units – thermosiphon /adsorption filters — are outlined. The results of testing the TRANSEC technology in an existing electrical installation serviced by PJSC Rosseti are presented. Six months of trial operation of the TRANSEC module demonstrated the restoration of insulation characteristics on operating equipment without additional involvement of personnel. Besides, during the testing of the TRANSEC technology, the influence of oil temperature on the information content of the assessment of solid insulation parameters was confirmed. Proposals are formulated on the revision of industry documentation in the established part.

The mechanisms of influence of devices distorting power quality indicators on the key electrical processes in the power supply system of the building are considered. Existing methods for compensating harmonic current and voltage fluctuations are mainly related to circuitry-based, engineering and organizational solutions. Modern engineering solutions imply supplementing electrical installations of the building with complex devices that incorporate semiconductor transducers. In addition to performing their primary function, these devices act as sources of additional emission of current and voltage distortions. The use of these technologies contributes to an increase in the efficiency index and leads to a decrease in the reliability index of the electrical installation. To determine the resulting technical condition index, an existing approach was used based on three groups of indicators: efficiency, operational reliability, and environmental friendliness of the installation under study.

On the example of the experiments performed, an assessment was made of the change in the technical condition index when a device distorting the power quality indicators is turned on. Data arrays have been collected on changes in the quality of electrical energy measured using analyzers. The change in the value of the operational reliability index is calculated. When a noise generator is connected to the cable before the load, the calculated probability of system failsafe operation increases by 2.86%. At the same time, for the circuit under consideration, the total harmonic distortion coefficient increases by at least 13%. The results show that the process of upgrading the power supply system of buildings, combined with the use of complex semiconductor technology, may adversely affect the technical condition index (TCI) of the system. The method for determining the TCI value based on the arithmetic mean approach to averaging the indices of efficiency, operational reliability, and environmental friendliness is shown to be of unsatisfactory accuracy. Ranges of adjustment factors are proposed.

Increase of power and complication of turbomachinery design is accompanied by stricter requirements to their reliability. Increasing the service life of turbomachinery is also one of the main tasks of quality improvement. Since the blade is a highly loaded element of any turbomachine, high operational requirements are imposed on it, expressed in reliability and durability of this element. A large number of factors affect the performance of the blade, one of which is its twist. The purpose of the current study is to determine the effect of twist of a gas turbine blade twisted according to the potential vortex law.

The results of research of twist law influence on stress-strain state of the blade of the last stage of axial gas turbine, twisted according to the potential vortex laware presented. For this purpose, using the internal packages Ansys, CFX and Static Structural, we performed an interdisciplinary conjugate analysis of the solutions of the computational gas dynamics and static strength problems. During the analysis of the static strength problem we considered the tensile stresses arising in the field of centrifugal forces, bending stress (in different planes — from the pressure difference between inlet and outlet and from the pressure difference on the concave and convex surfaces of the blade), torsional stress, as well as thermal stress.

Evaluation of the obtained results in conjunction with the analysis of previously derived analytical dependencies allowed to establish the influence of blade twist on the stress-strain state. The factor of torsion stresses and deformations should be taken into account when designing twisted blades and their subsequent gas-dynamic and strength estimation.

The effects of mass implementation of energy-saving lighting on the permissible level of loading of the supply transformer were analyzed. The influence of non-sinusoidal voltages and currents on transformer wear was analyzed. Distortions of sinusoidal shape of voltages and currents lead to additional power losses in transformer. They cause heating of the insulation and windings of the transformer, increased losses and accelerated wear and tear. Higher harmonic components of voltage and current in a 0.4 kV network are caused by the presence of various energy-saving lighting lamps with non-linear volt-ampere characteristic, which include compact fluorescent and LED light sources. As a result, the transformer designed to operate at a frequency of 50 Hz experiences an additional adverse effect in the form of power losses and accelerated wear of electrical insulation, which leads not only to the deterioration of its technical and economic performance characteristics, but also to a significant decrease in reliability associated with the influence of higher harmonic components of voltage and current on equipment failure. It is shown that the lack of power factor correction schemes for low-power compact fluorescent and LED lamps causes the growth of nonsinusoidal voltage and current as they spread, which in turn causes the need to adjust the limit load of transformers to ensure their rated thermal mode. One way to maintain operational reliability under such conditions is to limit the transformer load depending on the level of higher harmonics in the network, as well as to predict the residual life of the operating transformer. Measuring the values of current transformer load and current levels of higher harmonic components of voltage and current will allow not only to calculate an acceptable load factor of the transformer (for the condition of insulation wear), but also to estimate the current residual life of transformer equipment using a neural network model.

An important role in satisfying the high quality of life of the population and modern industry is played by the reliability of power supply and ensuring uninterrupted delivery of electricity. As a result of a large number of emergency failures of elements caused by external factors, information about the technical state of elements in real time is not used by dispatching centers. These conditions cause difficulties in assessing the reliability of power lines and timely elimination of developing defects, which cause high transmission losses and lead to wire breaks and failures.

Considering a digital photo or other raster image to assess the surface of power lines wires, we know that it is an array of numbers recorded by sensors of brightness levels, in a two-dimensional plane. Knowing that in mathematical terms a thin lens performs the Fourier transform of images placed in the focal planes, it is possible to create image processing algorithms, which are analogues of image processing by a classical optical system. An algorithm for automatic processing of scanning electron microscopy images aimed at detecting and describing surface defects in power line wires is proposed, which is implemented in the Python programming language. The algorithm proposes to use a Fourier transform procedure to eliminate the image brightness gradient and suppress high-frequency noise in the image by applying a two-dimensional bandpass filter. The necessity and parameters of the dynamic range normalization of the filtered image are determined. The binarization parameters of the normalized image are determined. A quantitative assessment of the degree of defectiveness of the investigated wire surface has been proposed. A quantitative assessment of the degree of elongation of defects on the surface of the investigated wire has been proposed.

Energy is a basic industry that affects the state of the entire economy. At the same time, it is one of the main consumers of primary energy resources and has a noticeable impact on the environment. Increasing the energy and environmental efficiency of gas treatment systems and purification of atmospheric emissions for the reliable and environmentally safe operation of urban energy systems is an urgent problem. A theoretical determination of the efficiency of gas fuel purification for urban energy sources in a cyclone filter was carried out using the relative Reynolds number Re_r, with the data obtained further validated based on data on serial cyclones currently produced and widely used in the Russian Federation. Besides, on the basis of CFD methods, numerical studies of the flow movement and experimental studies of the characteristics of velocities and pressures in the flow were carried out. A system of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations is used to describe the separation process. Bench tests of the cyclone filter were carried out, which was designed on the basis of the serial cyclone TSN-11 with a diameter of 200 mm. The results of theoretical calculations, numerical and experimental studies showed the possibility and expediency of improving the cyclone by installing a fabric filter in it, which makes it possible to reduce the cut-off diameter (for particles captured to 50%) from the average values for standard cyclones (10 μm) to 0.4 μm, i.e. e. provides capturing of fine particles of the PM₁₀, PM_2.5 class, while increasing the purification efficiency up to 99.89% with minimal energy consumption. Consequently, the cyclone filter can be used as the second (final) stage of purification.

Reconstruction of axial-flow hydroturbines through installation of variable speed propeller blade runners is considered. Using daily information about water head, capacity, and suction height of Nizhne-Svirskaya HPP units, topograms of hydro equipment operating conditions were created. For obtaining a regular pattern of unit capacity usage in power grid, those topograms were redesigned into histograms of relative duration of normalized capacity. Using aforementioned histograms enabled to substantiate the possibility of application of propeller blade runners for HPP reconstruction. The most dangerous unit operating conditions were identified in terms of cavitation. The upper limit for turbine cavitation coefficient was established. Methodologies were presented and a choice was made from several blade angles using analysis of efficiency levels, maximum normalized capacity, and turbine cavitation coefficient. Based on empirical dependencies, approximate losses in water parts induced by differences in geometry of old and reconstructed turbines were considered. With specifics of the propeller blade runner and losses in elements of the turbine water part taken into account, an estimated model hill chart of a hydroturbine with a new blade runner was created. This was used to plot an estimated prototype hill chart of the reconstructed hydroturbine operating with variable rotation speed. Three main operating zones are highlighted on the prototype hill chart. Simultaneously with achieving higher values of capacity compared to those of a Kaplan turbine, the operating range has been widened compared to traditional propeller turbines with a constant speed.