Increasing waste generation has become a significant issue over the globe due to the rapid increase in urbanization and industrialization. In the literature, many issues that have a direct impact on the increase of waste and the improper disposal of waste have been investigated. Most of the existing work in the literature has focused on providing a cost-efficient solution for the monitoring of garbage collection system using the Internet of Things (IoT). Though an IoT-based solution provides the real-time monitoring of a garbage collection system, it is limited to control the spreading of overspill and bad odor blowout gasses. The poor and inadequate disposal of waste produces toxic gases, and radiation in the environment has adverse effects on human health, the greenhouse system, and global warming. While considering the importance of air pollutants, it is imperative to monitor and forecast the concentration of air pollutants in addition to the management of the waste. In this paper,... [more]

There is a vital need to understand the flashover process of polymeric insulators for safe and reliable power system operation. This paper provides a rigorous investigation of forecasting the flashover parameters of High Temperature Vulcanized (HTV) silicone rubber based on environmental and polluted conditions using machine learning. The modified solid layer method based on the IEC 60507 standard was utilised to prepare samples in the laboratory. The effect of various factors including Equivalent Salt Deposit Density (ESDD), Non-soluble Salt Deposit Density (NSDD), relative humidity and ambient temperature, were investigated on arc inception voltage, flashover voltage and surface resistance. The experimental results were utilised to engineer a machine learning based intelligent system for predicting the aforementioned flashover parameters. A number of machine learning algorithms such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Polynomial Support Vector Machine (PSVM), Gaussian SVM (GSVM), Dec... [more]

In practical power system operation, knowing the voltage stability limits of the system is important. This paper proposes using a decision tree (DT) to extract guidelines through offline study results for assessing system voltage stability status online. Firstly, a sample set of DTs is determined offline by active power injection and bus voltage magnitude (P-V) curve analysis. Secondly, participation factor (PF) analysis and the Relief-F algorithm are used successively for attribute selection, which takes both the physical significance and the classification capabilities into consideration. Finally, the C4.5 algorithm is used to build the DT because it is more suitable for handling continuous variables. A practical power system is implemented to verify the feasibility of the proposed online voltage stability margin (VSM) assessment framework. Study results indicate that the operating guidelines extracted from the DT can help power system operators assess real time VSM effectively.

Batteries are combinations of electrochemical cells that generate electricity to power electrical devices. Batteries are continuously converting chemical energy to electrical energy, and require appropriate maintenance to provide maximum efficiency. Management systems having specialized monitoring features; such as charge controlling mechanisms and temperature regulation are used to prevent health, safety, and property hazards that complement the use of batteries. These systems utilize measures of merit to regulate battery performances. Figures such as the state-of-health (SOH) and state-of-charge (SOC) are used to estimate the performance and state of the battery. In this paper, we propose an intelligent method to investigate the aforementioned parameters using a data-driven approach. We use a machine learning algorithm that extracts significant features from the discharge curves to estimate these parameters. Extensive simulations have been carried out to evaluate the performance of t... [more]

The present paper is focused on proposing and implementing a methodology for robust and rapid diagnosis of PEM fuel cells’ faults using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Accordingly, EIS tests have been first conducted on four identical fresh PEM fuel cells along with an aged PEMFC at different current density levels and operating conditions. A label, which represents the presence of a type of fault (flooding or dehydration) or the regular operation, is then assigned to each test based on the expert knowledge employing the cell’s spectrum on the Nyquist plot. Since the time required to generate the spectrum should be minimized and considering the notable difference in the time needed for carrying out EIS tests at different frequency ranges, the frequencies have been categorized into four clusters (based on the corresponding order of magnitude: >1 kHz, >100 Hz, >10 Hz, >1 Hz). Next, for each frequency cluster and each specific current density, while utilizing a classificatio... [more]

For a safe drilling operation with the of minimum borehole instability challenges, building a mechanical earth model (MEM) has proven to be extremely valuable. However, the natural complexity of reservoirs along with the lack of reliable information leads to a poor prediction of geomechanical parameters. Shear wave velocity has many applications, such as in petrophysical and geophysical as well as geomechanical studies. However, occasionally, wells lack shear wave velocity (especially in old wells), and estimating this parameter using other well logs is the optimum solution. Generally, available empirical relationships are being used, while they can only describe similar formations and their validation needs calibration. In this study, machine learning approaches for shear sonic log prediction were used. The results were then compared with each other and the empirical Greenberg−Castagna method. Results showed that the artificial neural network has the highest accuracy of the prediction... [more]

Energy efficiency is a major concern to achieve sustainability in modern society. Smart cities sustainability depends on the availability of energy-efficient infrastructures and services. Buildings compose most of the city, and they are responsible for most of the energy consumption and emissions to the atmosphere (40%). Smart cities need smart buildings to achieve sustainability goals. Building’s thermal modeling is essential to face the energy efficiency race. In this paper, we show how ICT and data science technologies and techniques can be applied to evaluate the energy efficiency of buildings. In concrete, we apply machine learning techniques to classify buildings based on their energy efficiency. Particularly, our focus is on single-family buildings in residential areas. Along this paper, we demonstrate the capabilities of machine learning techniques to classify buildings depending on their energy efficiency. Moreover, we analyze and compare the performance of different classifie... [more]

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) possess many positive qualities when it comes to spatial raster data. Translation invariance enables CNNs to detect features regardless of their position in the scene. However, in some domains, like geospatial, not all locations are exactly equal. In this work, we propose localized convolutional neural networks that enable convolutional architectures to learn local features in addition to the global ones. We investigate their instantiations in the form of learnable inputs, local weights, and a more general form. They can be added to any convolutional layers, easily end-to-end trained, introduce minimal additional complexity, and let CNNs retain most of their benefits to the extent that they are needed. In this work we address spatio-temporal prediction: test the effectiveness of our methods on a synthetic benchmark dataset and tackle three real-world wind prediction datasets. For one of them, we propose a method to spatially order the unordered data.... [more]

The aim of the study was to develop deep neural network models for laminar burning velocity (LBV) calculations. The present study resulted in models for hydrogen−air and propane−air mixtures. An original data-preparation/data-generation algorithm was also developed in order to obtain the datasets sufficient in quality and quantity for models training. The discussion about the current analytical models highlighted issues with both experimental data and methodology of creating those analytical models. It was concluded that there is a need for models that can capture data from multiple experimental techniques with ease and automate the model design and training process. We presented a full machine learning based approach that fulfills these requirements. Not only model development, but also data preparation was described in detail as it is crucial in obtaining good results. Resulting models calculations were compared with popular analytical models and experimental data gathered from liter... [more]

The economic losses from earthquakes tend to hit the national economy considerably; therefore, models that are capable of estimating the vulnerability and losses of future earthquakes are highly consequential for emergency planners with the purpose of risk mitigation. This demands a mass prioritization filtering of structures to identify vulnerable buildings for retrofitting purposes. The application of advanced structural analysis on each building to study the earthquake response is impractical due to complex calculations, long computational time, and exorbitant cost. This exhibits the need for a fast, reliable, and rapid method, commonly known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). The method serves as a preliminary screening platform, using an optimum number of seismic parameters of the structure and predefined output damage states. In this study, the efficacy of the Machine Learning (ML) application in damage prediction through a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model as the damage classific... [more]

The burgeoning prognostic and health management (PHM) engineering technology with superior performance has lately received extensive attention in the academic circle. Nevertheless, the various types of faults of the power transformer often lead to less accurate predictions and the instability of the power system. To address these problems, a power transformer PHM model with a hybrid machine learning method-approach is proposed in this paper. The model uses intelligent sensors to obtain dissolved gas analysis (DGA) data for fault diagnosis of the power transformer system, so as to compress the complexity of features (gas types) in the power transformer. In particular, to enhance the robustness of the model, we adopt a modified differential evolution whale optimization algorithm (MDE-WOA) to optimize the probabilistic neural network (PNN), namely, the classification performance of the model is improved by updating the smoothing factor ( σ ) of PNN. In addition, compared with other op... [more]

Measuring systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated in order to tackle the challenges of modern industrial problems. In particular, the Multiphase Flow Meter (MPFM) combines different sensors and data fusion techniques to estimate quantities that are difficult to be measured like the water or gas content of a multiphase flow, coming from an oil well. The evaluation of the flow composition is essential for the well productivity prediction and management, and for this reason, the quantification of the meter measurement quality is crucial. While instrument complexity is increasing, demands for confidence levels in the provided measures are becoming increasingly more common. In this work, we propose an Anomaly Detection approach, based on unsupervised Machine Learning algorithms, that enables the metrology system to detect outliers and to provide a statistical level of confidence in the measures. The proposed approach, called AD4MPFM (Anomaly Detection for Multiphase Flow Meters), is... [more]

The deployment of microgrids could be fostered by control systems that do not require very complex modelling, calibration, prediction and/or optimisation processes. This paper explores the application of Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques for the operation of a microgrid. The implemented Deep Q-Network (DQN) can learn an optimal policy for the operation of the elements of an isolated microgrid, based on the interaction agent-environment when particular operation actions are taken in the microgrid components. In order to facilitate the scaling-up of this solution, the algorithm relies exclusively on historical data from past events, and therefore it does not require forecasts of the demand or the renewable generation. The objective is to minimise the cost of operating the microgrid, including the penalty of non-served power. This paper analyses the effect of considering different definitions for the state of the system by expanding the set of variables that define it. The obtained r... [more]

The ongoing upsurge of deep learning and artificial intelligence methodologies manifest incredible accomplishment in a broad scope of assessing issues in different industries, including the energy sector. In this article, we have presented a hybrid energy forecasting model based on machine learning techniques. It is based on the three machine learning algorithms: extreme gradient boosting, categorical boosting, and random forest method. Usually, machine learning algorithms focus on fine-tuning the hyperparameters, but our proposed hybrid algorithm focuses on the preprocessing using feature engineering to improve forecasting. We also focus on the way to impute a significant data gap and its effect on predicting. The forecasting exactness of the proposed model is evaluated using the regression score, and it depicts that the proposed model, with an R-squared of 0.9212, is more accurate than existing models. For the testing purpose of the proposed energy consumption forecasting model, we h... [more]

The importance of efficient utilization of biomass as renewable energy in terms of global warming and resource shortages are well known and documented. Biomass gasification is a promising power technology especially for decentralized energy systems. Decisive progress has been made in the gasification technologies development during the last decade. This paper deals with the control and optimization problems for an isolated microgrid combining the renewable energy sources (solar energy and biomass gasification) with a diesel power plant. The control problem of an isolated microgrid is formulated as a Markov decision process and we studied how reinforcement learning can be employed to address this problem to minimize the total system cost. The most economic microgrid configuration was found, and it uses biomass gasification units with an internal combustion engine operating both in single-fuel mode (producer gas) and in dual-fuel mode (diesel fuel and producer gas).

Building databases are important assets when estimating and planning for national energy savings from energy retrofitting. However, databases often lack information on building characteristics needed to determine the feasibility of specific energy conservation measures. In this paper, machine learning methods are used to enrich the Swedish database of Energy Performance Certificates with building characteristics relevant for a chosen set of energy retrofitting packages. The study is limited to the Swedish multifamily building stock constructed between 1945 and 1975, as these buildings are facing refurbishment needs that advantageously can be combined with energy retrofitting. In total, 514 ocular observations were conducted in Google Street View of two building characteristics that were needed to determine the feasibility of the chosen energy retrofitting packages: (i) building type and (ii) suitability for additional façade insulation. Results showed that these building characteristic... [more]

Solar energy is a key renewable energy source; however, its intermittent nature and potential for use in distributed systems make power prediction an important aspect of grid integration. This research analyzed a variety of machine learning techniques to predict power output for horizontal solar panels using 14 months of data collected from 12 northern-hemisphere locations. We performed our data collection and analysis in the absence of irradiation data—an approach not commonly found in prior literature. Using latitude, month, hour, ambient temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, and cloud ceiling as independent variables, a distributed random forest regression algorithm modeled the combined dataset with an R2 value of 0.94. As a comparative measure, other machine learning algorithms resulted in R2 values of 0.50−0.94. Additionally, the data from each location was modeled separately with R2 values ranging from 0.91 to 0.97, indicating a range of consistency across all sites. Using... [more]

One way to mitigate the variability of wind and solar power generation is to install the corresponding plants in nearby locations. For example, in Kuwait, the facility at Shagaya Renewable Energy Park is located in a desert area with both photovoltaic panels and wind turbines that allow the continuous generation of renewable energy throughout the day. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a system to generate probabilistic wind and solar predictions for the Shagaya facility. These predictions are based on the analog ensemble technique that post-processes the wind speed and solar irradiance predictions based on a combination of multiple models including the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical model. The ensemble forecasts have 20 members and are generated independently at each wind and solar power production facility. Here we present a method based on the Schaake Shuffle (SS) technique to pair the ensemble members from the independent systems to... [more]

Cyberspace has become an indispensable factor for all areas of the modern world. The world is becoming more and more dependent on the internet for everyday living. The increasing dependency on the internet has also widened the risks of malicious threats. On account of growing cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity has become the most pivotal element in the cyber world to battle against all cyber threats, attacks, and frauds. The expanding cyberspace is highly exposed to the intensifying possibility of being attacked by interminable cyber threats. The objective of this survey is to bestow a brief review of different machine learning (ML) techniques to get to the bottom of all the developments made in detection methods for potential cybersecurity risks. These cybersecurity risk detection methods mainly comprise of fraud detection, intrusion detection, spam detection, and malware detection. In this review paper, we build upon the existing literature of applications of ML models in cybersecuri... [more]

Surface chemical composition of bimetallic catalysts can differ from the bulk composition because of the segregation of the alloy components. Thus, it is very useful to know how the different components are arranged on the surface of catalysts to gain a fundamental understanding of the catalysis occurring on bimetallic surfaces. First-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations can provide deeper insight into the surface segregation behavior and help understand the surface composition on bimetallic surfaces. However, the DFT calculations are computationally demanding and require large computing platforms. In this regard, statistical/machine learning methods provide a quick and alternative approach to study materials properties. Here, we trained previously reported surface segregation energies on low index surfaces of bimetallic catalysts using various linear and non-linear statistical methods to find a correlation between surface segregation energies and elemental propertie... [more]

In photovoltaic (PV) systems, energy yield is one of the essential pieces of information to the stakeholders (grid operators, maintenance operators, financial units, etc.). The amount of energy produced by a photovoltaic system in a specific time period depends on the weather conditions, including snow and dust, the actual PV modules’ and inverters’ efficiency and balance-of-system losses. The energy yield can be estimated by using empirical models with accurate input data. However, most of the PV systems do not include on-site high-class measurement devices for irradiance and other weather conditions. For this reason, the use of reanalysis-based or satellite-based data is currently of significant interest in the PV community and combining the data with decomposition and transposition irradiance models, the actual Plane-of-Array operating conditions can be determined. In this paper, we are proposing an efficient and accurate approach for PV output energy modelling by combining a new da... [more]

Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) techniques have risen as prominent feature identification methods in the field of fluid dynamics. Any of the multiple variables of the DMD method allows to identify meaningful features from either experimental or numerical flow data on a data-driven manner. Performing a DMD analysis requires handling matrices V ∈ R n p × N , where n p and N are indicative of the spatial and temporal resolutions. The DMD analysis of a complex flow field requires long temporal sequences of well resolved data, and thus the memory footprint may become prohibitively large. In this contribution, the effect that principled spatial agglomeration (i.e., reduction in n p via clustering) has on the results derived from the DMD analysis is investigated. We compare twelve different clustering algorithms on three testcases, encompassing different flow regimes: a synthetic flow field, a R e D = 60 flow around a cylinder cross section, and a R... [more]

The latest earthquakes have proven that several existing buildings, particularly in developing countries, are not secured from damages of earthquake. A variety of statistical and machine-learning approaches have been proposed to identify vulnerable buildings for the prioritization of retrofitting. The present work aims to investigate earthquake susceptibility through the combination of six building performance variables that can be used to obtain an optimal prediction of the damage state of reinforced concrete buildings using artificial neural network (ANN). In this regard, a multi-layer perceptron network is trained and optimized using a database of 484 damaged buildings from the Düzce earthquake in Turkey. The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the selected ANN approach to classify concrete structural damage that can be used as a preliminary assessment technique to identify vulnerable buildings in disaster risk-management programs.

A modern renewable energy forecasting system blends physical models with artificial intelligence to aid in system operation and grid integration. This paper describes such a system being developed for the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park, which is being developed by the State of Kuwait. The park contains wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and concentrated solar renewable energy technologies with storage capabilities. The fully operational Kuwait Renewable Energy Prediction System (KREPS) employs artificial intelligence (AI) in multiple portions of the forecasting structure and processes, both for short-range forecasting (i.e., the next six hours) as well as for forecasts several days out. These AI methods work synergistically with the dynamical/physical models employed. This paper briefly describes the methodology used for each of the AI methods, how they are blended, and provides a preliminary assessment of their relative value to the prediction system. Each operational AI component add... [more]

Vehicle-to-grid services draw power or curtail demand from electric vehicles when they are connected to a compatible charging station. In this paper, we investigated automated machine learning for predicting when vehicles are likely to make such a connection. Using historical data collected from a vehicle tracking service, we assessed the technique’s ability to learn and predict when a fleet of 48 vehicles was parked close to charging stations and compared this with two moving average techniques. We found the ability of all three approaches to predict when individual vehicles could potentially connect to charging stations to be comparable, resulting in the same set of 30 vehicles identified as good candidates to participate in a vehicle-to-grid service. We concluded that this was due to the relatively small feature set and that machine learning techniques were likely to outperform averaging techniques for more complex feature sets. We also explored the ability of the approaches to pred... [more]