Digital Twinning for Power System Plant - 2025 entry

Power system plant transports electrical energy from the generating sources to the consumers, and includes transformers, cables, overhead lines, switchgear, and the control and monitoring equipment that ensures power quality and resilience. The basic principles and key issues in designing the plant and ensuring the operational and maintenance strategies are appropriate for a resilient smart grid future are discussed in the module. It also introduces the concept of plant digital twins. This uses condition monitoring data, in conjunction with integrated simulation models, to evaluate the thermal, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties of the plant, and assess failure-risk and life-expectancy.

The module aims to educate you about the items of plant used in a power system, with a focus on design principles, modes of operation and lifecycle management. Furthermore, it will teach you the main concepts associated with condition monitoring and asset management.  By introducing state-of-art ideas in digital twinning the module will ensure you are equipped with knowledge of the digital tools needed to manage a future low-carbon smart grid.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

1. Describe the key equipment of an electrical power network, their operation principles, and explain the latest trends in digital twinning and its importance in asset management (M1, M14)

2. Apply thermal, electrical, mechanical, and chemical principles to the design of the power system plant (M3, M5)

3. Critically review condition monitoring techniques used for assessing the plant health and failure-risk and develop digital asset management tools for power transformers based on their condition monitoring data (M2, M4)

4. Recognise the environmental impact of traditional insulation materials and the development process of new environmentally friendly insulation materials (M7, M13)

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

5. Apply a range of computational methods to solve engineering problems (M6)

Personal and Key Transferable/ Employment Skills and Knowledge:

6. Develop oral and written communication skills and effective use of learning resources, and foster effective teamwork and collaboration (M12, M16, M17)

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of an overall structure is as follows: 

• Principles associated with the design of plant used in electrical power networks

• Key items of plant, including thermal, electrical and mechanical designs, and associated condition monitoring:

  • Transformers 

  • Overhead lines

  • Cables

  • Switchgear

• Renewable Energy Sources and Storage Systems 

• Real-Time Simulation and Monitoring

• Digital twinning of power system plant

• Asset management

Reassessment will be by coursework and/or written exam in the failed or deferred element only. For referred candidates, the module mark will be capped at 50%. For deferred candidates, the module mark will be uncapped.

Reading list for this module: