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Schweitzer rugged industrial computer ready for work on wind farms

By Paul Dvorak | December 23, 2013

The SEL-3355 incorporates an advanced thermal management system with no moving parts or vents as well as several other innovative features that are built around a powerful Intel Core i7 multicore processor.

The SEL-3355 incorporates an advanced thermal management system with no moving parts or vents as well as several other innovative features that are built around a powerful Intel Core i7 multicore processor.

SEL introduces the SEL-3355 Computer, designed and manufactured in the United States and includes a standard ten-year warranty. “The SEL-3355 incorporates an advanced thermal management system with no moving parts or vents as well as several other innovative features that are built around a powerful Intel Core i7 multicore processor,” said Ed Schweitzer, SEL President. “The SEL-3355 is designed for mission-critical applications in harsh environments that require a highly reliable and highly available computing platform.”

Key SEL-3355 features include:

  • Up to 16 GB of industrial-grade error-correcting code (ECC) memory
  • Up to 1 TB of storage using up to four single-level cell (SLC) solid-state drives (SSDs)
  • Plenty of I/O and expansion slots for up to 5 PCIe/PCI cards
  • –40 to 75°C (40 to 167°F) operating temperature range
  • Ten-year, worldwide warranty

Rugged computers like this on are used at large wind sites for

  • Protocol conversion – to run software that converts DNP (SCADA) to say Modbus (communicate with the inverters), and for
  • A human-machine interface – to provide a graphical user interface at the wind site for monitoring and control, or
  • As a wind plant controller – a device that controls all of the inverters at each wind turbine to treat it as one large power plant. Company spokesman has seen some installations that want to control the power factor, ramp rate, curtailment, or the real and reactive power output from all of the inverters at the wind installation. A single computer can manage the communications and controls to each inverter to make it look like a single wind power plant.

Because the computer is powerful and rugged, it makes a great choice to locate at the wind plants. The Intel vPro technology also makes it easy to maintain the computer. From remote location you can load software patches, be alerted to possible operational issues, diagnose issues, as if the computer was sitting at your desk. This is a big deal for sites that are located remotely.

Lastly, SEL has put a lot of effort into making this the most reliable industrial computer on the market. Reliability means less downtime (higher availability), lower total cost of ownership, and years of trouble free operation – all things that the electric utility industry have come to expect from SEL.

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratory
www.selinc.com


Filed Under: News
Tagged With: schweitzer engineering laboratories, SEL
 

About The Author

Paul Dvorak

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