One of the most popular DSTAR software
products is our Distribution Engineering Toolbox. The toolbox is a
collection of small tools to support ordinary engineering and design tasks
such as:
Many software tools available to the
industry try to cover every possible situation. In so doing, most of these
tools are complicated and require training to be able to use them. The
DSTAR toolbox is intended to be so simple that the average field engineer,
designer, or technician could just pick up and go, intuitively, probably
without ever reading the documentation or having any training.
The Toolbox is implemented in Excel so
that it can be easily installed.
The Toolbox is intended to be customized
to each utility by a "Program Administrator" who sets up data particular
to the company and the materials it uses. The flexibility is with the
Administrator, the simplicity is with the user, who sees lists of familiar
materials, and needs only to click and go.
Guy Tension
Analyzer
This tool calculates guy tensions for
the ordinary guy configuration (Click
here to view image), or for span guys and sidewalk guys. The
program also recommends guy materials to use for the specific application,
and allows the user to easily iterate the design to achieve a good
solution.
The DSTAR Toolbox programs are designed
for extreme user ease. Most programs can be readily used by a technician
or engineer without even first consulting the manual. The Guy Tension
Analyzer provides plan and elevation views of the design to ensure that
the data "looks right". Also, in this digital age, users are attracted to
tools which have features like this.
An important feature of all the Toolbox
programs is that the programs are easily customized to the materials and
practices of the using company. The customization is set up by a
knowledgeable engineer in the company. For the end user, the answer is
just a few clicks away.
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Transformer Loading Analyzer
Another Toolbox tool is the Transformer
Loading Analyzer (Click
here to view image). This is a simple transformer loading
analysis tool used to estimate the service life of up to three different
transformer ratings for a particular loading and ambient temperature
scenario.
While
TOCS,
is the heavyweight used for procurement and specialized transformer
application issues, TLA is the quick-and-easy program which can be used by
technicians, designers, or customer service agents to evaluate the size of
transformer needed for an application.
The program can be customized with the
data for the transformers that a company procures and ambient temperature
cycles for the various service territories.
The input for the hourly transformer
load has a graphic plot to
assist the user.
Ambient temperature profiles are set up
by the Administrator for the various geographic regions of your operating
area. The user need only select
the appropriate climate, and the hourly temperatures are loaded for
each season.
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Voltage Drop and
Flicker Tool
Another Toolbox tool is the Voltage Drop
and Flicker Calculator (Click
here to view image). This tool calculates voltage drop and
flicker for three-phase services where each customer or load is served
radially by a separate service cable from the transformer. In addition,
V-Drop can calculate the impact of large motor starting or other flicker
loads elsewhere on the feeder.
The user clicks on the graphic objects to enter
data in V-Drop.
Transformer and cable data can be
selected from data set up by the Administrator, or the user can input data
directly.
V-Drop also allows
the user to model the primary radial system back to the substation to
determine the primary side flicker seen by other loads on the same feeder.
Primary modeling is not mandatory, however, and the user can opt to define
the primary impedance at the distribution transformer in terms of the
short circuit strength, or choose to ignore the primary system altogether.
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Evaluation Copy
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Cable Pulling
Assistant
The Cable Pulling Assistant is a Toolbox
program which allows user-friendly calculations of pulling tensions and
sidewall pressures for a cable run. CPA also calculates the probability of
cable jamming, conduit fill, and conduit clearances. (Click
here to view the main screen). As well as other Toolbox programs, CPA can be customized to allow
the user to directly select the cables and conduits used by a utility.
CPA handles up to three similar cables
plus a neutral conductor in a conduit. Cables are selected from a database
set up by the Administrator, or data are directly input.
Then the program recommends a coefficient of
friction based on the combination of the cable outside surface material
and the conduit material.
This table of coefficients is set up by the Administrator based on the
lubrication practices used by the utility.
A very handy method is used to input
cable layout information. The user simply double-clicks on a row in the
input table, and the window shown on the lower left opens. The user can
select whether a straight, sweep, or field bend section is to be input,
and a window is opened letting the user select the appropriate data from a
list set up by the Administrator.
A handy feature of
CPA is that the calculations for pulling in either direction can be
quickly obtained, without re-entry of the conduit layout data.
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Overhead Calculation Suite
The overhead
calculation suite is a pool of tools helping out routine overhead design
functions.
It Includes:
•
Ruling Span Calculator
•
Wood Pole Wind Loading
•
Conductor Blowout
•
Stringing Sag
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