48-volt power plant at Paille exchange in Brussels

Constructional details are given of the installation, with descriptions of the rectifiers, stabilizer, and ancillary control equipment. The main purpose of the review is to draw attention to the possibilities of using metal rectifiers on a large scale, and the advantages these offer, the problem being to keep a very constant output voltage over a large output current range, with protection against overload. The switching of rectifiers in or out is effected by relay circuits controlled by the output current level. When the current limit is reached an alarm signal indicates that a generator should be started. The system has operated satisfactorily for two years.