Abhinanda Sarkar

Transformer insulation life assessment

This paper presents novel techniques for life assessment of the insulation of the generator stepup units in power plants. Load and ambient temperatures are two important factors that influence the life of insulation in transformers. Hourly load and ambient temperatures obtained through condition monitoring are used to assess the operating profile of the equipment. Modeling techniques for estimating load factors and the ambient temperatures using the operating history are discussed in this paper. The estimated load factors and ambient temperatures are input to the IEEE life consumption models to assess the consumed life of insulation. A full simulation approach and a renewal process approach have been presented to evaluate the time to failure of the insulation. Estimation of some relevant reliability parameters such as B/sub X/ life, time-to-reach design life, and probability of failure at a given time are also presented. The methods discussed are useful for estimating residual life of insulation to support the repair and maintenance policies of transformers.

Marketing Optimization in Retail Banking

In this paper, we address the problem of making optimal product offers to customers of a retail bank by using techniques including Markov chains, genetic algorithms, mathematical programming, and design of experiments. Our challenges were large problem size, uncertainty about estimates of customer responses to product offers, and practical issues in training and implementation. The solution had an estimated financial impact of around

Method, system and computer product for continuously monitoring data sources for an event of interest

20 million; it also provided other intangible benefits, including structured decision making, the capability of performing what-if analysis, and portability to other markets and portfolios.