Recently, “power cuts” and “coal price surges” have been significant concerns of individuals and societies. The main reasons for a power cut are a recent rapid increase in power consumption, shortage of thermal coal or the large shutdown capacity of thermal power units, resulting in a tight power supply in the power grid. In recent years, the shortage of fossil resources has led to frequent energy crises. In the context of carbon peaks and carbon neutralization, how to better develop electric-energy substitution and eliminate the dependence on fossil energy has become a problem that needs to be solved at present. In this paper, the influencing factors of electric-energy substitution in Beijing are analyzed, and the indexes affecting the electric-energy substitution are outlined. By constructing various machine-learning models, the prediction is performed. The results show that the Gaussian kernel support vector machine model based on a grid search has a good prediction effect on the el... [more]

Accurate prediction of an off-normal event in a nuclear reactor is dependent upon the availability of sensory data, reactor core physical condition, and understanding of the underlying phenomenon. This work presents a method to project the data from some discrete sensory locations to the overall reactor domain during conduction cooldown scenarios similar to High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs). The existing models for conductive cooldown in a heterogeneous multi-body system, such as an assembly of prismatic blocks or pebble beds relies on knowledge of the thermal contact conductance, requiring significant knowledge of local thermal contacts and heat transport possibilities across those contacts. With a priori knowledge of bulk geometry features and some discrete sensors, a machine learning approach was devised. The presented work uses an experimental facility to mimic conduction cooldown with an assembly of 68 cylindrical rods initially heated to 1200 K. High-fidelity temperatu... [more]

Brushless doubly fed reluctance generators (BDFRGs) are hopeful generators for using inside variable speed wind turbines (VSWTs), as these generators introduce a promising economical value because of their lower manufacturing and maintenance costs besides their higher reliability. For integrating WT generators, global networks codes require enabling these generators to stay connected under grid disturbances. The behavior of the BDFRG is strongly affected by grid disturbances, due to the small rating of the used partial power converters, as these converters cannot withstand high faults currents which leads to quick tripping of BDFRG. VSWTs can be safeguarded against faults using the crowbar. Usually, the conventual crowbar is shunt connected across the converter to protect it, but this configuration leads to absorbing reactive power with huge amounts from the grid, leading for more voltage decaying and more power system stability deterioration. This study proposes a simpler self-control... [more]

In order to study the effect of groove parameters on solid particles’ deposition in mechanical face seal lubrication film, a multi-phase flow calculation model for the sealing micro-gap lubricating film was established based on the Laminar model, mixture multi-phase flow model, Zwart−Gerber−Belamri cavitation model, and DPM model in Fluent, and a numerical simulation of the effect of groove parameters is presented. The results show that, with the increase of groove depth, the circumferential sedimentary zone in the dam area decreases or even disappears, and the groove area becomes the main sedimentary part; the particle deposition rate decreases first and then increases with the increase of groove depth and spiral angle. The influence of groove depth on the deposition rate at low speed is more significant than that at high speed. The increase of deposition rate caused by a spiral angle that is too large is greater than that caused by a spiral angle that is too small. The optimal groove... [more]

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is regarded as the cleanest among fossil fuels due to its lower environmental impact. In power plants, it emits 50−60% less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere compared to regular oil or coal-fired plants. As the demand for a lower environmental footprint is increasing, fuel cells powered by LNG are starting to appear as a promising technology, especially suitable for off-grid applications, since they can supply both electricity and heating. This article presents a techno-economic assessment for an integrated system consisting of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack and a micro gas turbine (MGT) fueled by LNG, that feeds the waste heat to a multi-effect desalination system (MED) on the Greek island of Patmos. The partial or total replacement of the diesel engines on the non-interconnected island of Patmos with SOFC systems is investigated. The optimal system implementation is analyzed through a multi-stage approach that includes dynamic computational analysis... [more]

Thermal switches contribute to efficient and safe thermal management of components and overall systems in various technical applications by actively controlling heat transfer in response to varying thermal loads and ambient conditions. Heat pipes are passive heat transfer devices constituting an integral part of various thermal management systems such as in spacecraft or consumer electronics thermal control. Heat pipes also form a promising approach for thermal switches due to their high effective thermal conductivity. In this paper, a wickless copper-water heat pipe based thermal switch with an electromagnetic linear actuator is presented. The magnetically actuated motion of a plunger integrated into the heat pipe affects the latent heat transport cycle leading to a switchable heat transfer. Thermal measurements conducted to determine the total thermal resistance of the heat pipe demonstrate the efficacy of the thermal switch. It was found that the thermal resistance of the heat pipe... [more]

Renewable energy sources are growing in importance and reshaping power systems through microgrid (MG) networks. Some relevant issues in the management of an MG need to be addressed, such as voltage and frequency control, power balance between sources (sharing) and distributed loads, stability, security, power quality, etc. As a contribution, this manuscript presents a power management of AC MGs based on concepts of microeconomics theory for market equilibrium. The prices of active and reactive energy are informed through the AC voltage parameters such as magnitude, frequency and angle. This approach allows several sources and loads to operate with no extra communication interface. Experiments are provided to validate operation in many different operational scenarios using a hardware-in-the-loop environment.

The use of heat pumps in buildings is one of the best and often the only option for the decarbonization of the building stock. District heating seems a promising solution in urban areas and in existing buildings when the use of heat pumps is restricted and also technically and economically challenging (source exploitation, space restrictions, sound emissions, etc.). Heat pumps can be integrated in various ways in buildings and district heating systems: large central high-temperature heat pumps in district heating, medium-size heat pumps block- or building-wise or small heat pumps decentral apartment-wise. The best option depends on the individual district heating CO2 emissions and the electricity mix as well as on the perspective of the building owner versus that one of the district heating system and its future development. Austrian examples of district heating systems and different variants of integrating heat pumps are investigated in a comprehensive way by means of an energetic and... [more]

Addressing the problem of the vibration and noise of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), this paper optimizes the structure of a permanent-magnet motor rotator, introduces the electromagnetic-structure-acoustic coupling calculation model, and optimizes the motor rotator to reduce the vibration and noise of a permanent-magnet motor. Using the theory of Maxwell’s stress equation, the radial electromagnetic force on the stator teeth of the permanent-magnet motor is deduced and analyzed, and the correctness of the analysis calculation is verified by using the finite element multi-physical field coupling method. Based on the deduced analytical expression of the radial electromagnetic force, the sources of the radial electromagnetic force for each order and the frequency of the permanent-magnet motor are summarized. A 12-slot, 8-pole, permanent-magnet motor is taken as an example. A calculation model considering the spatial distribution of the radial electromagnetic force and the el... [more]

Aiming at the open circuit fault of a dual three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor, a normalized current method is used for open circuit fault diagnosis. Then, a fault-tolerant control strategy for reducing the harmonic distortion of a dual three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor is proposed, which is based on current model prediction control and keeps the decoupling transformation matrix unchanged. The fault-tolerant control method based on current model prediction considers the influence of the control quantity on the future state of the system, and effectively reduces the total harmonic distortion. Two fault-tolerant control strategies for the motor are analyzed, with minimizing stator copper consumption and maximizing torque output as control objectives. Through simulation and experiment of fault-tolerant control strategies for a dual three-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor, the results verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the strategy.

This paper proposes a distributed robust multi-energy dynamic optimal power flow (DR-DOPF) model to overcome the uncertainty of new energy outputs and to reduce water spillage in hydropower plants. The proposed model uses an ambiguity set based on the Wasserstein metric to address the uncertainty of wind and solar power forecasting errors, rendering the model data-driven. With increasing sample size, the conservativeness of the ambiguity set was found to decrease. By deducing the worst-case expectation in the objective function and the distributed robust chance constraints, the exact equivalent form of the worst-case expectation and approximate equivalent form of the distributed robust chance constraints were obtained. The test results of the IEEE-118 and IEEE-300 node systems indicate that the proposed model could reduce water spillage by more than 85% and comprehensive operation cost by approximately 12%. With an increasing number of samples, the model could reduce conservativeness o... [more]

Studies of carbon emissions typically focus on price and tax effects or technology. We argue that the two are closely linked within an economy in disequilibrium. Our goals are twofold: (1) to examine the combined role of: low CO2 technology, fuel taxes and CO2 tax on taming CO2 emissions and (2) to build a counterfactual analysis by capturing anything else that causes emissions to diverge from the trend such as renewable energy, energy laws and the state of the economy. The equilibrium correction model (EqCM) suggests that emissions have a long-term relationship with economic growth, fossil fuel use, taxes and clean power sources. Both oil and gas extraction and economic growth raise Norway’s emissions, offsetting the mitigating effect of taxes. Sweden´s carbon fuel tax elasticity is 20%, a value far above Norway´s elasticity, even though these carbon taxes were phased-in under a period of macroeconomic instability, weakening their effectiveness. The income elasticity of emissions is n... [more]

The lithium-ion battery (LIB) has the advantages of high energy density, low self-discharge rate, long cycle life, fast charging rate and low maintenance costs. It is one of the most widely used chemical energy storage devices at present. However, the safety of LIB is the main factor that restricts its commercial scalable application, specifically in hazardous environments such as underground coal mines. When a LIB is operating under mechanical and electrical abuse such as extrusion, impact, overcharge and overheating, it will trigger thermal runaway and subsequently cause fire or even an explosion. According to the relevant requirements in IEC60079, the explosion-proof protection of LIB can be adapted to the working environment of high dust and explosive gas environments such as in the mining face of coal production. This paper presents an overview of the LIB-relevant technology, thermal runaway, safety and applications in the general mining industry with implications to establish a t... [more]

Multiple elimination has always been a key, challenge, and hotspot in the field of hydrocarbon exploration. However, each multiple elimination method comes with one or more limitations at present. The efficiency and success of each approach strongly depend on their corresponding prior assumptions, in particular for seismic data acquired from complex geological regions. The multiple elimination approach using deep learning encodes the input seismic data to multiple levels of abstraction and decodes those levels to reconstruct the primaries without multiples. In this study, we employ a classic convolution neural network (CNN) with a U-shaped architecture which uses extremely few seismic data for end-to-end training, strongly increasing the neural network speed. Then, we apply the trained network to predict all seismic data, which solves the problem of difficult elimination of global multiples, avoids the regularization of seismic data, and reduces massive amounts of calculation in tradit... [more]

The gradually increased penetration of photovoltaic (PV) power into electric power systems brings an urgent requirement for accurate and stable PV power forecasting methods. The existing forecasting methods are built to explore the function between weather data and power generation, which ignore the uncertainty of historical PV power. To manage the uncertainty in the forecasting process, a novel ensemble method, named the evidential extreme learning machine (EELM) algorithm, for deterministic and probabilistic PV power forecasting based on the extreme learning machine (ELM) and evidential regression, is proposed in this paper. The proposed EELM algorithm builds ELM models for each neighbor in the k-nearest neighbors initially, and subsequently integrates multiple models through an evidential discounting and combination process. The results can be accessed through forecasting outcomes from corresponding models of nearest neighbors and the mass function determined by the distance between... [more]

The largest carbonate condensate field has been found in the Tarim Basin, NW China. Different from sandstone condensate gas reservoirs, however, the conventional gas injection for pressure maintenance development is not favorable for Ordovician fracture-cave reservoirs. Based on this, in this paper, 21 sets of displacement experiments in full-diameter cores and a pilot test in 11 boreholes were carried out to study enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in complicated carbonate reservoirs. The experimental results show that the seepage channels of the gas condensate reservoirs are fractures, which are quite different from sandstone pore-throat structures. Condensate oil recovery using water injection was up to 57−88% in unfilled fractured caves and at ca. 52−80% in sand-filled fractured caves. These values are much higher than the 14−46% and 17−58% values obtained from the depletion and gas injection experiments, respectively. The water injection in 11 wells showed that the condensate oil recover... [more]

With the rapid development of the renewable energy source (RES), network congestion management is increasingly important for transmission system operators (TSOs). The limited transmission network capacity and traditional intervention methods result in high RES curtailment. The near-term, powerful, and flexible solutions, such as advanced flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS), are considered to mitigate the risks. The mobile modular static synchronous series compensator (MSSSC) is one of the grid-enhancing solutions. The mobility of the solution allows it to offer fast deployment and seasonal redeployability with limited cost. The demonstration of the mobile MSSSC solution has shown significant benefits for RES curtailment reduction, network congestion alleviation, and facilitating the demand and RES connection. For unlocking the true value of the mobile solution, they should be optimally allocated in the transmission networks. This paper develops a security-constrained DCOPF-based o... [more]

Micro gas turbines fit perfectly with the energy roadmap to 2050: on-site, small scale power generation, combined with heat recovery from exhaust gas, offers an opportunity to deploy primary energy saving and pollutant emission reduction. Moreover, their flexibility enables fuel switching from natural gas (NG) to carbon-free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. This study aims to explore the potential of direct combustion of ammonia in a micro gas turbine (MGT), from a thermodynamic point of view. A modeling procedure was developed to simulate the behavior of a 100 kW MGT operating at full and part-load. After validation with NG as fuel, an increasing fraction of ammonia was fed to the combustor to predict performance variations in terms of electric, thermal and total efficiency, as well as exhaust gas composition, for a load range between 40% and 100%. Additional relevant details, related to the interaction between compressor and turbine in the single-shaft arrangement, were discussed... [more]

With a focus on the shock oscillation phenomenon of a supersonic inlet at a high Mach number, the influence of isolator overflow on shock oscillation is studied in this paper. The shock wave dynamic model with overflow was established by the theoretical method, and the integrated numerical model of internal flow and external flow in the inlet was established too. The theoretical analysis of rate of overflow and overflow position on the flow field is carried out, and the changes of flow field parameters are studied by numerical simulation under different overflow positions. The results showed that both increasing the rate of overflow and setting the overflow gap close to the shock front were beneficial to reducing the flow parameters’ oscillation. In the viscous flow field, the overflow gap restricted the forward development of the local separation region of the shock train system, thus constraining the shock wave movement process, which could significantly reduce the parameter oscillat... [more]

This paper investigates the impact of the wire selection on the performance of induction motors for automotive applications. The section of wire and the material are evaluated at a high speed of 200 kW in an induction motor designed for premium vehicle applications. The proposed solutions have the same electromagnetic and thermal constraints, as well as the same final encumbrance. The various wire and winding types differ in terms of slot design, phase resistance, end-winding overhanging portion, skin and proximity effects, and equivalent slot thermal conductivity. Their impacts are analyzed in terms of the operating area motor efficiency and they are tested in an automotive drive cycle, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each configuration.

Both electrical and thermal efficiencies combine in determining and evaluating the performance of a PV/T collector. In this study, two PV/T systems consisting of poly and monocrystalline PV panels were used, which are connected from the bottom by a heat exchanger consisting of a spiral tube through which a nanofluid circulates. In this study, a base fluid, water, and ethylene glycol were used, and iron oxide nanoparticles (nano-Fe2O3) were used as an additive. The mixing was carried out according to the highest specifications adopted by the researchers, and the thermophysical properties of the fluid were carefully examined. The prepared nanofluid properties showed a limited effect of the nanoparticles on the density and viscosity of the resulting fluid. As for the thermal conductivity, it increased by increasing the mass fraction added to reach 140% for the case of adding 2% of nano-Fe2O3. The results of the zeta voltage test showed that the supplied suspensions had high stability. Whe... [more]

Gasification has played an important role in the sustainable use of waste biomass, providing useful combustible gases in the process. Gasification has an important role in waste management and promotes energy independence for many oil-deficit countries. The gasification process has been studied by various researchers, and improvements have been achieved in its sub-processes such as devolatilization, feed input methods, and so on. We examined the influence of gasifier operation parameters, such as oxidizer content, moisture content in the feedstock, and solar flux input inside the gasifier, on the temperature distribution, velocity distribution, and product gas yields of the gasifier. The results indicate that inducing solar energy at different stages of the gasifier leads to different yields of product gas composition (CO and H2).

In the process of waterflooding development, high waterflooding PVs will make the fluid percolation in the reservoir more complicated, resulting in lower efficiency of waterflooding. High waterflooding PVs will affect the relative permeability and change the seepage law of oil−water two-phase flow in a high water-cut period. In this study, we performed high waterflooding PVs relative permeability experiments using nine natural cores. The unsteady measurement method is used to test the relative permeability curve. The results show that: (1) the relative permeability is affected by the waterflooding PVs, the recovery efficiency of 2000 waterflooding PVs is 10.72% higher than that of 50 waterflooding PVs on the core scale; (2) it makes water mobility increase sharply, while oil phase flow capacity remains low and decreases at high water cut stage. A new relative permeability characterization method considering high waterflooding PVs is established, which is applied to the numerical simula... [more]

This work presents new data on the life cycle impact assessment of various lignocellulosic biomass types in Mexico. A comparative life cycle assessment model of biomass densification systems was conducted. An integrated approach that incorporated various process variables, such as technology and variations in feed properties, within the analysis was employed to evaluate the environmental impact of producing 1 MJ of energy-containing densified fuel. The results show that the densification unit and curing (fuel drying) have the highest impact on the life cycle’s operational energy and the total life cycle energy, respectively. Of all the 33 biomass types from the 17 species sources considered in this study, sweet sorghum and sandbur grass have the highest global warming potential, 0.26 and 0.24 (kg CO2-eq), and human toxicity 0.58 and 0.53 (kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene-eq), respectively, while coffee pulp and cooperi pine wood have the least impact in both categories, with values of 0.08 and 0... [more]

It has been shown that tangential inlet return cyclones are commonly used for inlet air filtration of off-road vehicle engines. The wear of the engine elements, and thus their durability, is determined by the efficiency and accuracy of the inlet air filtration. It has been shown that the possibilities of increasing the separation efficiency or decreasing the pressure drop of a cyclone by changing the main dimensions of the cyclone are limited, because any arbitrary change in one of the dimensions of an already operating cyclone may cause the opposite effect. A literature analysis of the possibility of increasing the filtration efficiency of cyclones by modifying the design of selected cyclone components was conducted. In this paper, three modifications of the cyclone design with a tangential inlet of the inlet air filter of a military tracked vehicle were proposed and performed. The symmetrical inlet of the cyclone was replaced with an asymmetrical inlet. The cylindrical outlet tube wa... [more]