New energy power plant security: how to deal with high altitude and strong UV environment with maintenance-free locks?

Driven by the goal of “double carbon”, the new energy power station is accelerating to high altitude, extreme environment layout - Tibet Naqu photovoltaic power station at an altitude of 4500 meters, ultraviolet intensity exceeds the plains by 3 times; Atacama Desert wind farm in Chile, the difference in temperature between day and night reaches 50 degrees Celsius, and the traditional locks are frequently defeated in such “extreme examination room”. The traditional locks are frequently defeated in such “extreme examination halls”: statistics of a Qinghai PV power station show that 60% of the failures between equipment originate from illegal intrusion or short circuit caused by aging locks, and a single repair requires scheduling of drones for transporting spare parts, with a cost of up to 2,000 yuan/time.

As an “off-grid environment security experts”, maintenance-free locks how to rely on material revolution and technological innovation, become Huawei, Longi and other enterprises designated program? This article combines the characteristics of high-altitude environments to analyze its “hard core survival law”.

A high-altitude strong ultraviolet environment of the three “lock killer”

1. Ultraviolet aging: the “invisible strangulation” of materials

· Every 1,000 meters above sea level, the intensity of ultraviolet rays increases by about 10%, and the anodic oxidation film of traditional aluminum alloy locks is destroyed within 2 years, with fading and chalking; plastic parts are even worse, brittle and cracked in 6 months (e.g., traditional electronic locks in the photovoltaic power stations in the Republic of Qinghai are 30% unable to be unlocked due to the aging of plastic of the keypad).

2. Dramatic temperature difference: the hotbed of mechanical stalling

· The temperature difference between day and night in high-altitude areas is generally more than 30℃ (e.g., Yangbajing in Tibet is +25℃ during the day and -15℃ at night), the metal parts of traditional locks produce gaps due to thermal expansion and contraction, and the failure rate of tongue stagnation is 4 times higher than that of the plains, and a wind power project in Ganzi, Sichuan Province had a wind power project that was frozen due to locks, resulting in wind turbine shutdown for 8 hours, and loss of power generation of 200,000 degrees.

3. Low air pressure + sand: a catalyst for circuit failure

· air pressure above 4000 meters above sea level is only 60% of the plains, the battery compartment of traditional electronic locks is prone to condensation, combined with sand and dust (e.g., the PM10 concentration in Gansu Dunhuang PV area is more than 500 μg/m³), which leads to a 3-fold increase in the risk of circuit short-circuit.

“Extreme Survival Trio” of Maintenance-Free Locking Devices

1. Material Revolution: From “Perishable” to “Weather Resistant”

· zinc alloy body + nano-ceramic coating:

The hardness of · zinc alloy (HB≥80) is 1.5 times that of aluminum alloy, and there is no crack on the surface after UV aging test (QUV 5000 hours), comparing with aluminum alloy locks (oxidized spots appear in 2,000 hours), and the service life of the locks in Tibet PV area has been prolonged from 2 years to more than 10 years;

· surface sprayed with nano-ceramic coating, reflecting more than 90% of ultraviolet rays, measured in Qinghai Talatan Power Station for 3 years, the color change of the lock body △ E <3 (almost no difference to the naked eye).

2. Structural design: “intelligent skeleton” to cope with temperature difference

· Adaptive Gap Compensation: The lock tongue adopts bimetal structure, automatically extends 0.5mm at -25℃ to compensate for contraction, and shortens 0.3mm at +65℃ to avoid expansion and stagnation, and still maintains 0.3 seconds of quick unlocking at low temperature of -20℃ in the high-altitude wind power project in Yunnan;

· fully sealed without circuit: passive electronic lock without any built-in battery / line, through the electronic key instantaneous power supply, completely eliminate “low temperature battery failure” “air pressure difference leads to circuit board breakdown” and other issues, suitable for altitude 5000 meters above the “no power zone” (such as the energy storage power station at the foot of Mount Everest).

3. Protection level: “Golden Bell” for sandstorms and rain

·IP66 level protection:

·6 Grade Dustproof: Completely block sand and dust ≤ 50μm (such as fine sand in Kubuqi Desert, Inner Mongolia), the amount of sand and dust deposited inside the lock cylinder is 90% less than that of traditional locks;

·6 waterproof: withstand high-pressure water jet (simulated Tibetan monsoon rain), the humidity inside the lock body is always <20% during 100 rainstorm tests in Xichang PV power station in Sichuan.

The actual case: Tibet naqu photovoltaic power station “security breakout”

Project Pain Points:

· 4800 meters above sea level, average annual sunshine 2800 hours, UV index long-term > 12 (safety value < 8);

· traditional electronic locks replace batteries 4 times a year, battery life in - 20 ℃ environment only 2 months, annual operation and maintenance costs more than 150,000 yuan;

· lock body aluminum alloy oxidation led to 30% of the equipment between the normal switch can not be, 2021 due to illegal invasion caused by inverter damage, the direct loss of 500,000 yuan.

Solution:

· deploys maintenance-free passive electronic lock, zinc alloy lock body + IP66 protection, electronic key supports -40℃ low temperature start;

· is equipped with an APP management system to monitor the unlocking records of 300 convergence boxes and 100 inverter chambers in real time.

Core Achievements:

1. Reliability leap: 3 years of operation, zero battery replacement, zero lock aging failure, O&M cost reduced by 87%;

2. Security upgrade: AES-256 encryption prevents privilege cracking, abnormal unlocking automatically triggers the cloud alarm, and there will be zero intrusion events in 2023;

3. Environmental adaptation: passed the “high-altitude environmental adaptability test” of China Electric Power Research Institute, and became a recommended product of “Technical Specification for Protection of Equipment in Photovoltaic Power Stations”.

New energy power station selection: 3 major hard core indicators screening “true maintenance-free”

1. Altitude-specific certification

· Requirement of “High Altitude Operation Test Report”, focusing on:

· Air pressure adaptability at 5000 meters above sea level (no deformation of lock seals);

· -40℃~+85℃ temperature difference cycle test (1000 times without functional abnormality).

2. Measured data of UV protection

· Check the third party test report:

·QUV UV aging test ≥5000 hours (traditional standard only 2000 hours);

· Xenon lamp aging test (simulating high altitude strong ultraviolet rays), the coating hardness decreased by ≤10%.

3. Localized service network

· selects suppliers with spare parts warehouses in new energy concentration areas (e.g. Xining, Qinghai, Chengdu, Sichuan) to ensure that it responds to the replacement needs of high-altitude power stations within 72 hours;

· provides “Plateau-specific Installation Guide” to guide the construction team to deal with the loosening of expansion bolts caused by temperature difference (e.g. stainless steel 316L material bolts are recommended for Tibet project).

In the “extreme battlefield” of new energy power plants, security locks are not an option but a necessity. Maintenance-free locks with “material + structure + protection” triple innovation, has become a high-altitude, strong ultraviolet environment of the “survival standard” - Click on the link below, so that each power plant Click on the link below to make every power plant “stable” in extreme environments!

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