The accurate control of the wellbore pressure not only prevents lost circulation/blowout and fracturing formation by managing the density of the drilling fluid, but also improves productivity by mitigating reservoir damage. Calculating the geothermal pressure of a geothermal well by constant parameters would easily bring big errors, as the changes of physical, rheological and thermal properties of drilling fluids with temperature are neglected. This paper researched the wellbore pressure coupling by calculating the temperature distribution with the existing model, fitting the rule of density of the drilling fluid with the temperature and establishing mathematical models to simulate the wellbore pressures, which are expressed as the variation of Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD) under different conditions. With this method, the temperature and ECDs in the wellbore of the first medium-deep geothermal well, ZK212 Yangyi Geothermal Field in Tibet, were determined, and the sensitivity an... [more]

Demand Response (DR) programs under the umbrella of Demand Side Management (DSM) tend to involve end users in optimizing their Power Consumption (PC) patterns and offer financial incentives to shift the load at “low-priced” hours. However, users have their own preferences of anticipating the amount of consumed electricity. While installing an Energy Management System (EMS), the user must be assured that this investment gives optimum comfort of bill savings, as well as appliance utility considering Time of Use (ToU). Moreover, there is a difference between desired load distribution and optimally-scheduled load across a 24-h time frame for lowering electricity bills. This difference in load usage timings, if it is beyond the tolerance level of a user, increases frustration. The comfort level is a highly variable phenomenon. An EMS giving optimum comfort to one user may not be able to provide the same level of satisfaction to another who has different preferences regarding electricity bill... [more]

Italy is a leading country in the biogas sector. Energy crops and manure are converted into biogas using anaerobic digestion and, then, into electricity using internal combustion engines (ICEs). Therefore, there is an urgent need for improving the efficiency of these engines taking the real operation into account. To this purpose, in the present work, the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology is used to recover the waste heat contained in the exhaust gases of a 1 MWel biogas engine. The ICE behavior being affected by the biogas characteristics, the ORC unit is designed, firstly, using the ICE nameplate data and, then, with data measured during a one-year monitoring activity. The optimum fluid and the plant configuration are selected in both cases using an “in-house” optimization tool. The optimization goal is the maximization of the net electric power while the working fluid is selected among 115 pure fluids and their mixtures. Results show that a recuperative ORC designed using real... [more]

The goal of maintaining users’ thermal comfort conditions in indoor environments may require complex regulation procedures and a proper energy management. This problem is being widely analyzed, since it has a direct effect on users’ productivity. This paper presents an economic model-based predictive control (MPC) whose main strength is the use of the day-ahead price (DAP) in order to predict the energy consumption associated with the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). In this way, the control system is able to maintain a high thermal comfort level by optimizing the use of the HVAC system and to reduce, at the same time, the energy consumption associated with it, as much as possible. Later, the performance of the proposed control system is tested through simulations with a non-linear model of a bioclimatic building room. Several simulation scenarios are considered as a test-bed. From the obtained results, it is possible to conclude that the control system has a good beha... [more]

In recent years, demand side management (DSM) techniques have been designed for residential, industrial and commercial sectors. These techniques are very effective in flattening the load profile of customers in grid area networks. In this paper, a heuristic algorithms-based energy management controller is designed for a residential area in a smart grid. In essence, five heuristic algorithms (the genetic algorithm (GA), the binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) algorithm, the bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA), the wind-driven optimization (WDO) algorithm and our proposed hybrid genetic wind-driven (GWD) algorithm) are evaluated. These algorithms are used for scheduling residential loads between peak hours (PHs) and off-peak hours (OPHs) in a real-time pricing (RTP) environment while maximizing user comfort (UC) and minimizing both electricity cost and the peak to average ratio (PAR). Moreover, these algorithms are tested in two scenarios: (i) scheduling the load of a... [more]

The thermal performance of three novel solar air collectors with perforating corrugated plate, slit-perforated plate, and corrugated packing were experimentally studied in this paper. Experiments were conducted in Tianjin to study the thermal and dynamic performance of the collectors in cold and severe cold regions. A chamber with a PID (Proportion Integration Differentiation) temperature controller was designed to control the inlet air temperature of the three collectors. Effects of radiation intensity, inlet air temperature, and flow rate on the thermal efficiency and outlet air temperature were experimentally studied. The results indicated that the thermal efficiency of the three collectors in severe cold regions could be much higher than 50% and the collector with perforating corrugated plate had the highest thermal efficiency. The inlet air flow rate had significant effects on the thermal comfort of buildings in cold and severe cold regions and it should be lower than 45 m³/h. The... [more]

Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) control strategy is a management approach for generating, using, and saving energy. Therefore, the optimal control strategy is the sticking point to effectively manage hybrid electric vehicles. In order to realize the optimal control strategy, we use a robust evolutionary computation method called a “memetic algorithm (MA)” to optimize the control parameters in parallel HEVs. The “local search” mechanism implemented in the MA greatly enhances its search capabilities. In the implementation of the method, the fitness function combines with the ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR (ADVISOR) and is set up according to an electric assist control strategy (EACS) to minimize the fuel consumption (FC) and emissions (HC, CO, and NOx) of the vehicle engine. At the same time, driving performance requirements are also considered in the method. Four different driving cycles, the new European driving cycle (NEDC), Federal Test Procedure (FTP), Economic Commission for Europe + Ext... [more]

In vein with the new energy market rules drafted in the EU this paper presents and discusses two contract types for hedging the risks connected to long-term transmission rights, the financial transmission right (FTR) and the electricity price area differentials (EPAD) that are used in the Nordic electricity markets. The possibility to replicate the FTR contracts with a combination of EPAD contracts is presented and discussed. Based on historical evidence and empirical analysis of ten Nordic interconnectors and twenty bidding areas, we investigate the pricing accuracy of the replicated FTR contracts by quantifying ex-post forward risk premia. The results show that the majority of the studied FTR contain a negative risk premium, especially the monthly and the quarterly contracts. Reverse flow (unnatural) pricing was identified for two interconnectors. From a theoretical policy point of view the results imply that it may be possible to continue with the EPAD-based system by using EPAD Com... [more]

This work analyzes the effects of a BMS (battery management system) on the characterization and modeling of series and parallel connections of Li-ion cell packs. The Li-ion pack studied consists of four series modules connected in parallel. This pack has been characterized by means of charge, discharge and frequency tests. As a result of these tests, series and parallel influence on battery parameters have been determined. A model considering the effects of a BMS is established and compared with a model based on a single-cell approach. Experimental validations show that the single cell based approach gives poor results in comparison with a model that considers BMS effects.

New technologies open up the door to multiple business models applied to public services in smart cities. However, there is not a commonly adopted methodology for evaluating business models in smart cities that can help both practitioners and researchers to choose the best option. This paper addresses this gap introducing the Business Model Evaluation Tool for Smart Cities. This methodology is a simple, organized, flexible and the transparent system that facilitates the work of the evaluators of potential business models. It is useful to compare two or more business models and take strategic decisions promptly. The method is part of a previous process of content analysis and it is based on the widely utilized Business Model Canvas. The evaluation method has been assessed by 11 experts and, subsequently it has been validated applying it to the case studies of Santander’s waste management and street lighting systems, which take advantage of innovative technologies commonly used in smart... [more]

This paper presents an optimal cooperative voltage control approach, which coordinates storage units in a distribution network. This technique is developed for storage systems’ active power management with a local strategy to provide robust voltage control and a distributed strategy to deliver optimal storage utilization. Accordingly, three control criteria based on predefined node voltage limits are used for network operation including normal, over-voltage, and under-voltage control modes. The contribution of storage units for voltage support is determined using the control modes and the coordination strategies proposed in this paper. This technique is evaluated in two case studies to assess its capability.

Future power systems are expected to have distributed energy resources (DERs). A price-based operation (PBO), where dynamic prices are used as the control signal, can be an alternative scheme to address challenging operational issues in the future power systems. In this paper, a decentralized framework for optimal PBO using a feedback control mechanism is proposed to determine the nodal prices for power balance and congestion management. The substructures and feedback controllers of the proposed framework are derived based on the optimal power flow (OPF) method. Thus, the framework guarantees optimality for all situations in real-time and enables the use of various types of controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is verified with the IEEE 39 bus network under some scenarios, such as the failure of a generator and a transmission line. The results clearly demonstrate that the proposed framework successfully resolves the balance and congestion problems by generating appro... [more]

In this paper, a refined reference current generation algorithm based on instantaneous power (pq) theory is proposed, for operation of an indirect current controlled (ICC) three-level neutral-point diode clamped (NPC) inverter-based shunt active power filter (SAPF) under non-sinusoidal source voltage conditions. SAPF is recognized as one of the most effective solutions to current harmonics due to its flexibility in dealing with various power system conditions. As for its controller, pq theory has widely been applied to generate the desired reference current due to its simple implementation features. However, the conventional dependency on self-tuning filter (STF) in generating reference current has significantly limited mitigation performance of SAPF. Besides, the conventional STF-based pq theory algorithm is still considered to possess needless features which increase computational complexity. Furthermore, the conventional algorithm is mostly designed to suit operation of direct curre... [more]

The fast and coordinated voltage control of distributed nodes inside a large scale wind farm is a stringent issue. To achieve the reactive power compensation without a dedicated upper communication system, this paper proposes a relative control strategy based on the local reactive power regulation. This method can realize the voltage coordination of the key equipment and feeder line nodes, on the basis of the relative voltage observations. Firstly, the stability analysis of a certain wind farm with pre-known parameters and structure is studied under the wind power fluctuations. Secondly, the optimal capacity configurations of the reactive power compensators are discussed, with multiple nodes inside the wind farms. Simulation results of a specific wind farm in North Hebei, China, validate the effectiveness of the proposed control, which is equipped with fast and stable voltage dynamic responses, as well as local reactive power compensations without remote communication.

The resiliency of power systems can be enhanced during emergency situations by using microgrids, due to their capability to supply local loads. However, precise prediction of disturbance events is very difficult rather the occurrence probability can be expressed as, high, medium, or low, etc. Therefore, a fuzzy logic-based battery energy storage system (BESS) operation controller is proposed in this study. In addition to BESS state-of-charge and market price signals, event occurrence probability is taken as crisp input for the BESS operation controller. After assessing the membership levels of all the three inputs, BESS operation controller decides the operation mode (subservient or resilient) of BESS units. In subservient mode, BESS is fully controlled by an energy management system (EMS) while in the case of resilient mode, the EMS follows the commands of the BESS operation controller for scheduling BESS units. Therefore, the proposed hybrid microgrid model can operate in normal, res... [more]

To strengthen the integration of the primary and secondary systems, a concept of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) is introduced to construct a CPS in Power Systems (Power CPS). The most basic work of the Power CPS is to build an integration model which combines both a continuous process and a discrete process. The advanced form of smart grid, the Active Distribution Network (ADN) is a typical example of Power CPS. After designing the Power CPS model architecture and its application in ADN, a Hybrid System based model and control method of Power CPS is proposed in this paper. As an application example, ADN flexible load is modeled and controlled with ADN feeder power control by a control strategy which includes the normal condition and the underpowered condition. In this model and strategy, some factors like load power consumption and load functional demand are considered and optimized. In order to make up some of the deficiencies of centralized control, a distributed control method is pres... [more]

This paper presents the analysis and design of a smart battery management system for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based portable electronic devices. It is a novel concept of incorporating the functionality of a smart battery management system into the FPGA used by portable electronic devices, which provides the following advantages. (1) It lowers cost since the conventional commercial independent battery management circuit can be eliminated; (2) It offers more flexibility because FPGA based battery management algorithms can be specifically designed for different battery chemistries of different devices and can provide the flexibility of algorithms and functionalities updating as well. Smart battery management system concepts include four aspects: (1) smart charging; (2) battery balancing; (3) smart discharging; and (4) safety operating. One novel charging algorithm, which combines the merits of multistage charging and pulse charging, is proposed to charge a Li-ion battery pack... [more]

Multiple inverters connected in parallel is a promising method to upgrade the power capacity of inductive power transfer (IPT) systems. Due to a slight unbalance of the control signals, the inner resistances of the inverters and other uncertainties, circulating currents exist among the parallel units which reduce the reliability of IPT systems. Firstly, the series-parallel resonant tank is employed in the multiple inverters based IPT system to eliminate the DC and harmonic circulating currents. The fundamental circulating currents in the paralleled inverter units are analyzed in detail. Then, for eliminating the fundamental circulating currents, a current decomposition method and a control diagram are proposed to avoid acquiring the phase of the current by detecting zero cross current point which increases the accuracy of the control algorithm. Finally, a 1-kW parallel-connected inverter IPT system is provided to verify the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the prop... [more]

In this study, a 2D hydrate dissociation simulator has been improved and verified to be valid in numerical simulations of the gas production behavior using depressurization combined with a well-wall heating method. A series of numerical simulations were performed and the results showed that well-wall heating had an influence enhancing the depressurization-induced gas production, but the influence was limited, and it was even gradually weakened with the increase of well-wall heating temperature. Meanwhile, the results of the sensitivity analysis demonstrated the gas production depended on the initial hydrate saturation, initial pressure and the thermal boundary conditions. The supply of heat for hydrate dissociation mainly originates from the thermal boundaries,whichcontrolthehydratedissociationandgasproductionbydepressurizationcombined with well-wall heating. However, the effect of initial temperature on the gas production could be nearly negligible under depressurization conditions combi... [more]

N-k contingency estimation plays a very important role in the operation and expansion planning of power systems, the method of which is traditionally based on heuristic screening. This paper stringently analyzes the best and worst states of power systems given the uncertainties of N-k contingency and interval load. For the sake of simplification and tractable computation, an approximate direct current (DC) power flow model was used. Rigorous optimization models were established for identifying the worst and best scenarios considering the contingencies of generators and transmission lines together with their uncertain loads. It is very useful to identify the worst N-k contingencies with interval loads. If the worst existing scenario meets security standards, all scenarios must satisfy it. The mathematical model established for finding the worst N-k contingency with interval load is a bi-level optimization model. In this paper, strong duality theory and mathematical linearization were ap... [more]

This book contains the successful invited submissions [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11] to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of “Forecasting Models of Electricity Prices”.

Pt-Ru nanoparticles supported on carbon nanofibers (CNF) were synthesized by the sodium borohydride reduction method, using different generation dendrimers (zero, one, two and three generations). After the synthesis process, these materials were submitted to a heat treatment at 350 °C, in order to clean the nanoparticle surface of organic residues. TEM characterization showed that the Pt-Ru nanoparticles size ranged between 1.9 and 5.5 nm. The use of dendrimers did not totally avoid the formation of aggregates, although monodisperse sizes were observed. The heat treatment produces the desired surface cleaning, although promoted the formation of agglomerates and crystalline Ru oxides. The study of the electrochemical activity towards the methanol oxidation displayed some clues about the influence of both the dendrimer generation and the presence of Ru oxides. Moreover, the apparent activation energy Eap for this reaction was determined. The results showed a beneficial effect of the heat... [more]

This paper presents a new adaptive torque estimation algorithm for an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) with parameter variations and cross-coupling between d- and q-axis dynamics. All cross-coupled, time-varying, or uncertain terms that are not part of the nominal flux equations are included in two equivalent mutual inductances, which are described using the equivalent d- and q-axis back electromotive forces (EMFs). The proposed algorithm estimates the equivalent d- and q-axis back EMFs in a recursive and stability-guaranteed manner, in order to compute the equivalent mutual inductances between the d- and q-axes. Then, it provides a more accurate and adaptive torque equation by adding the correction terms obtained from the computed equivalent mutual inductances. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that torque estimation errors are remarkably reduced by capturing and compensating for the inherent cross-coupling effects and parameter variations adaptively, using th... [more]

There exists considerable uncertainty over both shale and conventional gas resource availability and extraction costs, as well as the fugitive methane emissions associated with shale gas extraction and its possible role in mitigating climate change. This study uses a multi-region energy system model, TIAM (TIMES integrated assessment model), to consider the impact of a range of conventional and shale gas cost and availability assessments on mitigation scenarios aimed at achieving a limit to global warming of below 2 °C in 2100, with a 50% likelihood. When adding shale gas to the global energy mix, the reduction to the global energy system cost is relatively small (up to 0.4%), and the mitigation cost increases by 1%⁻3% under all cost assumptions. The impact of a “dash for shale gas”, of unavailability of carbon capture and storage, of increased barriers to investment in low carbon technologies, and of higher than expected leakage rates, are also considered; and are each found to have t... [more]

Variable and non-programmable resources, such as solar and wind, have undergone a stunning growth in recent years and are likely to gain even more importance in the future. Their strong presence in the national electricity mix has created issues in many countries regarding the secure operation of the power system. In order to guarantee the stability of the system, several TSOs have resorted to wind energy curtailment, which represents a waste of clean energy and an economic loss. In order to analyze this issue, a model of the Italian power system was developed, a program able to simulate the electricity dispatching mechanism. The model was, then, used to evaluate possible solutions to reduce wind curtailment. In particular, a proposal for the construction of an HVDC line linking Southern and Northern Italy was studied.