Topic: Manufacturing and Industry

How is electricity generated and why can it be transmeted from one place to another to
supply power to our homes in Colombia?

By:
Andrés Felipe Rincón Barrera

For:
Rafael Núñez Díaz

English IV

Faculty of Engineering
University of Antioquia
Medellin
2017/1
 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Electricity is a physical property that occurs when the protons and electrons of any type of
body interact, this one has multiple applications that have been incorporated little by little
over time, one of the most important is the lighting that with its discovery We can have light
where there is darkness.

Throughout history there are several important people who have studied electricity, the
first was Tales de Mileto who discovered that by rotating a bar of amber with a cloth, it
could attract light objects, after this discovery other scientists began to study The idea
already discovered and innovated with other investigations, such as Benjamin Franklin who
demonstrated the electric nature of the rays and posited the theory that electricity is a fluid
that exists in matter and its flow is due to excess or defect of the Same in it.

Thus little by little they appeared diverse inventions until arriving at one of the most used
today in the earth, the Electric Generator, which was created by Michael Faraday in 1831,
has the function of generating energy and is currently used In large size in all countries of
the world in order to supply our homes and workplaces with electricity.

The function of an electric generator is to transform the movement (mechanical energy)

into electrical energy, this movement can be caused in various ways such as air, water,
water vapor, among others. In colombia there are approximately 31 hydroelectric, that is
to say that they use the water to turn the blades of some hydraulic turbines, which are
connected to an alternator (Generador Electrico) to fulfill the function of generating large
amounts of energy, these companies must be Located near large bodies of water like lakes,
rivers, dams, among others; This is the first stage of energy and is called Generation.

The next stage is the transmission or transport of energy. The Electric Energy Transport
Network is the part of the electrical supply system constituted by the elements necessary
to carry to the points of consumption and through great distances the energy generated in
the power plants Electrical installations.
For this, the volumes of electrical energy produced must be transformed, raising its voltage
level. This is done considering that for a certain level of power to be transmitted, when
raising the voltage reduces the current that will circulate, reducing losses by Joule Effect. To
this end, elevating substations are placed in which said transformation is effected using
transformers, or autotransformers. In this way, a transmission network usually uses
voltages of the order of 220 kV and above, termed high voltage, of 400 kV.

A fundamental part of the electric energy transport network are the transport lines. A
power transmission line or high voltage line is basically the physical medium through which
the transmission of electrical energy is carried out over great distances. It consists of both
the conductive element, usually copper or aluminum cables, as well as its supporting
elements, the high voltage towers.

Finally we arrive at the last stage, the Electric Power Distribution Network or Electric Power
Distribution System is the part of the electric power system whose function is the power
supply from the distribution substation to the end users (client).

The elements that make up the network or distribution system are as follows:

 Substation of Household Distribution: a set of elements (transformers, switches,

disconnectors, etc.) whose function is to reduce the high voltage levels of
transmission lines (or transport) to medium voltage levels for branching in multiple
outputs.
 Primary Circuit.
 Secondary Circuit.
The distribution of the electric energy from the substations of transformation of the
transport network is realized in two phases.

The first is made up of the distribution network, which, starting from the transformation
substations, distributes the energy, usually through rings that surround the large
consumption centers, until reaching the transforming stations of distribution. The voltages
used are between 25 and 132 kV. Intercalated in these rings are the distribution
transforming stations, in charge of reducing the voltage from the distribution level to the
medium voltage distribution.

The second stage is the distribution network proper, with operating voltages of 3 to 30 kV
and with a very radial characteristic. This network covers the area of large consumption
centers (population, large industry, etc.), linking transforming distribution stations with
transformation centers, which are the last stage of medium voltage supply, since Output of
these centers is low voltage (125/220 or 220/380 V).

The lines forming the distribution network are operated radially, without forming meshes,
unlike the transport and distribution networks. When there is a fault, a protection device at
the beginning of each network detects it and opens the switch that feeds this network.

The troubleshooting is done by the "trial and error" method, dividing the network that has
the fault into two halves and energizing one of them; As the faulted zone is bounded, the
supply is returned to the rest of the network. This causes that in the course of location
several interruptions can occur to the same user of the network.