Abstract
A COURSE of lectures and discussions dealing with power system problems and with the analytical methods available for solving them was held in the Electrical Engineering Department of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, during the week September 19-23. The course was attended by seventy electrical engineers, of whom twelve came from universities and electrical undertakings abroad. In his opening address Colonel B. H. Leeson, director of the British Electrical Manufacturers' Association, referred to the importance of periodically taking stock of progress, and of preparing a co-ordinated plan for further development and research. Mr.F. J. Lane of the British Electricity Authority, considered practical problems to be faced in developing a power system, and this was followed by a review of practical methods for performing network calculation by Mr. C. H. Lackey, of Messrs. A. Reyrolle. The latest analytical methods for the determination of the circuit parameters of overhead lines, underground cables, transformers and loads were reviewed by Mr. L. A. Gosland, of the Electrical Research Association ; and Dr. J. R. Mortlock, of the British Thomson-Houston Co., Ltd., discussed the theories used in determining equivalent circuits for alternators. A review of the most useful methods of determining the steady-state and transient power limits of networks was given by Mr. G. W. B. Mitchell, of Messrs. Merz and McLellan, and this was followed by a visit to the A.C. network analyser of Associated Electrical Industries at Willesden. A lecture on methods of solving complex simultaneous equations by Mr. M. W. Humphrey Davies, of the Imperial College, advocated greater use of computing machines for the simpler problems in system engineering work. Finally, Mr. P. J. Lane discussed the effect of some of the economic and technical considerations which it had not been possible to include in the course. In concluding, Prof. Willis Jackson stressed the need for increased co-operation between the universities, the technical colleges and industry to ensure wider dissemination and better utilization of the results of research already performed, and to stimulate the development of improved methods of anaysis.
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Electrical Power System Analysis. Nature 164, 560–561 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/164560e0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/164560e0