DETERMINATION OF THE MOMENT OF INERTIA OF A UNIT IN A THERMAL POWER PLANT

In a conventional power system structure, synchronous generators provide transient and frequency stability due to the kinetic energy of rotating masses. Increased penetration of renewable energy sources and the gradual shift towards the green agenda result in the shutdown of existing power generation units that rely on fossil fuels, making the system more susceptible to disturbances due to a lack of inertia. Problems that arise in a system facing a lack of inertia can lead to significant financial losses, so it is crucial to assess the amount of inertia provided by the existing units in power plants and determine the minimum critical inertia value that the system should always have. For conventional power generation units, the inertia data of the generator is one of the parameters that can be found in the technical documentation of the generator. However, it is not possible to obtain the same data for turbines, especially for steam turbines. This paper presents a method for calculating the inertia of turbo generators based on the stop recordings of thermal block B1 in the „Nikola Tesla B“ power plant, starting from Newton’s equation of rotational motion, with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the overall inertia of the system.