Vocabulary used in Electrical Engineering

Here are some vocabulary terms used in Electrical Engineering:

Alternating current (AC):

Alternating current is a form of

electricity in which the current alternates in direction (and

the voltage alternates in polarity) at a frequency defined

by the generator (usually between 50 and 60 times per

second, ie, 50 - 60 hertz).

Ampere:

The standard unit of electrical current.

Arc welding:

A group of welding procedures that fuse

metal pieces by melting them together, using heat from

an electric arc between an electrode and the work piece

Back-to-back connection:

In HVDC terms, links used to

connect neighboring grids are often referred to as “backto-

back” connections, indicating that the distance

between the two grids is minimal.

Barge:

In the oil and gas industry, a barge is an unpowered

multipurpose marine vessel. Barges are used as

cargo tankers, equipment and supply carriers, crane

platforms and support and accommodation bases in

offshore drilling, and as submarine pipe-laying vessels.

Biofuel:

Fuel derived from biomass, ie, (recently) living

organisms. This does not include fossil fuels such as coal

and oil, which are derived from ancient organisms. Bioethanol,

a fuel derived from sugar cane, corn and similar

materials is an example of a biofuel.

Blackout:

A complete loss of power resulting from damage

or equipment failure in a power station, power lines or

other parts of the power system.

Brownout:

A dip in the voltage level of a power system,

which can damage electrical equipment or cause it to

under perform, eg, lights dim.

Charging station:

An installation at which an electric

vehicle can be plugged into the grid to charge its battery.

Circuit breaker:

Devices that interrupt high currents to

protect electrical equipment from damage caused by

current surges, eg, from a short circuit or a lightning

strike.

Conductor:

An electrical conductor is any substance

through which electrical current can flow.

Converter:

An electrical device, comprising a rectifier

and inverter, used to alter the voltage and frequency of

incoming alternating current in an electrical system.

Current:

The rate at which electrons flow through a

circuit is defined as the current. If an electric circuit is

likened to water flowing through a system of pipes, the

current is analogous to the rate at which the water is

flowing. Electric current is measured in amps.

Distributed generation:

This term refers to electricity

generating installations that are scattered across the grid,

rather than placed at a central location.

Electrical drive train:

In the wind power industry, this

term refers to the combination of the a wind turbine’s

generator, converter and transformer

Emissions:

The release or discharge of substances,

effluents or pollutants into the environment

Fault-closing device:

A system of circuit breakers that

serves to contain a fault in a grid, preventing it from

spreading to other areas and causing widespread

disruption.

Feeder:

Overhead lines or cables that are used to distribute

electrical power to consumers

Fuel cell: A device in which chemical energy released by

the oxidation of a liquid (such as methanol) or gaseous

fuel is converted directly into electrical energy

High-current transients:

Short spikes of high electrical

current in a grid, caused by lightning strikes, or rapid

switching of electrical devices in the grid.

I/O(Input/output):

A device that enables communication

between electronic equipment and external devices,

including human operators. Examples of I/O devices

include computer keyboards, printers, sensors and all

type of interface cards.

Infrared thermography:

A method used to measure the

status of equipment by analyzing the amount of heat it

radiates.

Insulator:

A material that does not conduct electric

current, such as plastic, some kinds of silicon or glass.

The term can also refer to a material that does not conduct

heat.

Key performance indicator (KPI):

A measurable objective

used by organizations to monitor progress towards a

specific goal. Such measures are commonly used to

define and evaluate an organization’s performance

against internal benchmarks or those of peer

organizations.

Load:

A load in electrical terms is the power consumed

by a device or a circuit. Load is also used to describe the

total of all electricity consumers in a power system.

Manifold:

An arrangement of connected pipe and valves

used to consolidate multiple pumps, tanks, and/or pipelines

and a single unit.

Megawatt (MW):

One million watts. One megawatt would

be needed to light 10,000 one-hundred-watt light bulbs. If

those bulbs were powered for 1 hour, 1 MWh of electrical

power would be used.

Microgrid:

A microgrid is a small-scale power network

that comprises generating units and consumers. Often

including renewable power sources such as wind turbines

and solar panels, microgrids may also be connected to

the larger-scale grids from which they can draw power if

locally generated supplies fail to meet demand.

Mobile substation:

A substation that can be transported,

usually by truck, to temporarily replace equipment at

the site of a failure or in the event of planned maintenance.

Ohm:

Unit of electrical resistance. If a 1 volt source is

connected to a wire with a resistance of 1 ohm, then 1

ampere of electric current will flow.