Sections and branches

At the first meeting of the school year for this Branch, held in Chapin Hall, Oct. 1, Mr. P. G. Downton read a paper on “Booster Systems.” This paper dealt entirely with boosters used in connection with storage-battery installations. Each type was taken up and explained in detail by means of diagrams. Special stress was laid upon the automatic types, both reversible and non-reversible. The speaker cited cases where boosters were used, and gave interesting figures showing the improvement and saving in the service rendered. The size of the plant in relation to the system employed was taken up and the speaker pointed out the conditions governing this choice. The use of storage-batteries in connection with alternating-current installations was touched upon and some of the booster schemes used were explained. In the discussion following the reading of the paper, Mr. Simpson explained in detail the split-pole synchronous converter and its relation to alternating-current central station economy.