We developed an International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850-based centralized protection scheme to prevent single line-to-ground (SLG) faults in the feeders and busbars of ungrounded distribution systems. Each feeder intelligent electronic device (IED) measures its zero-sequence current and voltage signals and periodically transmits zero-sequence phasors to a central IED via a Generic Oriented Object Substation Event message. Using the zero-sequence phasors, the central IED detects SLG faults in feeders and busbars. To achieve centralized protection, angle differences between the zero-sequence currents and voltage phasors are exploited, and their calculation compensates for data desynchronization. The feeder IEDs were implemented using the MMS-EASE Lite library, while the transmitted zero-sequence phasors were calculated based on fault signals simulated by Power System Computer Aided Design / Electro-Magnetic Transient Design and Control (PSCAD/EMTDC). The central IED determi... [more]

A powered longwall mining system comprises three basic machines: a shearer, a scraper (longwall) conveyor, and a powered roof support. The powered roof support as a component of a longwall complex has two functions. It protects the working from roof rocks that fall to the area where the machines and people work and transports the machines and devices in the longwall as the mining operation proceeds further into the seam by means of hydraulic actuators that are adequately connected to the powered support. The actuators are controlled by a hydraulic or electro-hydraulic system. The tests and analyses presented in the developed procedure are oriented towards the possibility of introducing automatic control, without the participation of an operator. This is important for the exploitation of seams that are deposited at great depths. The primary objective was to develop a comprehensive methodology for testing and evaluating the possibility of using the system under operating conditions. The... [more]

The conversion of the electrical energy into the mechanical is usually realized by a motor, power electronics and cascade control. The relative stability (Θ-stability), i.e., the displacement of its eigenvalues of this system is analyzed for a drive with a BLDC motor. The influence of changing the basic parameters of the motor and power supply system on the drive operation is considered. 4th order closed-loop transfer-function of the cascade control is presented, where boundaries of the transfer-function coefficients are used. The cascade system which uncertainty of the resistance, inductance, flux and gain parameters is analyzed. Theoretical calculations for the cascade control, simulations and laboratory tests are included in the article.

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of power electronic control approaches for vibro-acoustic noise reduction in High Rotor-Pole Switched Reluctance Machines (HR-SRM). It carries out a fundamental analysis of approaches that can be used to target acoustic noise and vibration reduction. Based on the comprehensive study, four candidates for control have been identified and applied to the HR-SRM drive to evaluate their effectiveness and identify challenges. These four methods include phase advancing, current shaping based on field reconstruction, and random hysteresis band with and without spectrum shaping. The theoretical background, implementation, and vibro-acoustic noise reduction performance of each method are presented in detail. Comparative studies from simulation and experimental measurements have been used to identify the most effective solution to acoustic noise and vibration reduction in HR-SRM configuration.

In this paper, a digital hydraulic variable control method based on multi-way valve spool displacement feedback is proposed, which combines the advantages of low cost and high reliability of the loader fixed displacement pump hydraulic system, and the distinguished energy saving effect of the loader variable pump hydraulic system. Based on the principle of hydraulic resistance, the mathematical model of flow-pressure of multi-way valve was established. Meanwhile, the theoretical structure of a valve spool suitable for digital hydraulic system was deduced. On this basis, an improvement scheme of the valve spool was proposed in combination with machining feasibility. The simulation model of multi-way valve was established, the correctness of which was verified by experiment with the significance test method, and the valve port parameters of the multi-way valve were optimized by genetic algorithm. The simulation model before and after optimization was analyzed by AMESim software. The simu... [more]

As a result of global energy demand increase, concerns over global warming, and rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels, there is a growing interest in energy system dependence on clean and sustainable energy resources. Attractive power technologies include photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and biomass power. Fuel cells are also clean energy units that substitute power generators based on fossil fuels. They are employed in various applications, including transportation, stationary power, and small portable power. Fuel cell connections to utility grids require that the power conditioning units, interfacing the fuel cells and the grids, operate accordingly (by complying with the grid requirements). This study aims to model a centralised, single-stage grid-tied three-level diode clamped inverter interfacing a multi-stack fuel cell system. The inverter is expected to produce harmonic distortions of less than 0.5% and achieve an efficiency of 85%. Besides the grid, the system consists of a 1.54... [more]

The aggregation of operational active and reactive power flexibilities as the feasible operation region (FOR) is a main component of a hierarchical multi-voltage-level grid control as well as the cooperation of transmission and distribution system operators at vertical system interconnections. This article presents a new optimization-based aggregation approach, based on a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) and compares it to non-linear and linear programming. The approach is to combine the advantages of stochastic and optimization-based methods to achieve an appropriate aggregation of flexibilities while obtaining additional meta information during the iterative solution process. The general principles for sampling an FOR are introduced in a survey of aggregation methods from the literature and the adaptation of the classic optimal power flow problem. The investigations are based on simulations of the Cigré medium voltage test system and are divided into three parts. The improv... [more]

To improve the handling stability of automobiles and reduce the odds of rollover, active or semi-active suspension systems are usually used to control the roll of a vehicle. However, these kinds of control systems often take a zero-roll-angle as the control target and have a limited effect on improving the performance of the vehicle when turning. Tilt control, which actively controls the vehicle to tilt inward during a curve, greatly benefits the comprehensive performance of a vehicle when it is cornering. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the tilt control strategies for narrow commuter vehicles by combining the structure and dynamic characteristics of automobiles, a direct tilt control (DTC) strategy was determined to be more suitable for automobiles. A model predictive controller for the DTC strategy was designed based on an active suspension. This allowed the reverse tilt to cause the moment generated by gravity to offset that generated by the centrifugal force, th... [more]

A modular multilevel converter’s (MMC’s) submodule (SM)-capacitor voltage will increase under unbalanced grid conditions. Depending on the imbalance level, the voltage ripple can be considerably high, and it can exceed the pre-defined safe limits. If this occurs, the converter will trip, which can lead to serious stability problems for the grid. This paper first proposes an analytical solution for deriving the three-phase imbalanced SM ripple of an MMC under an unbalanced grid. With this analytical tool, the imbalance mechanism of the SM voltage ripple can be easily understood. What is more, the symmetrical component method is first applied to analyze the three-phase SM capacitor ripple, and the positive-/negative-/zero-sequence components of the three-phase SM voltage ripple are easily identified by the proposed analytical method. Then, based on this powerful analytical tool, the proper circulating-current profile to be injected can be obtained, allowing for the right compensation of... [more]

Voltage control of standalone converters with LC filter is usually based on proportional-resonant or proportional-integral controllers, which often require further active damping methods to achieve stability. These solutions place design constraints in the selection of the closed-loop pole locations which limit the achievable bandwidth and increase the design complexity. In contrast, in state-space based controllers, the closed-loop poles can be placed freely through state feedback, which makes them particularly suitable for high order plants and/or low sampling frequencies. Among the modern control methods, direct pole placement is a simple technique that enables the establishment of a straightforward relationship between outcome and design, as opposed to more advanced approaches. This paper presents a discrete state-space voltage controller for standalone converters with LC output filter. The proposed method combines the direct pole placement technique with a virtual disturbance obse... [more]

The estimation of the laundry unbalance and laundry inertia is fundamental in washing machine applications. On the one hand, the estimation and management of the laundry unbalance play a pivotal role in reducing mechanical stress and noise during the spinning phase. On the other hand, the laundry inertia’s estimation, performed at the beginning of the washing cycle, allows for the determination of the proper amounts of water and detergent, the water temperature, and the tumbling time. In this way, good washing performance is obtained, avoiding the waste of energy and resources. Moreover, at the end of the washing cycle, the laundry inertia’s accurate estimation is needed to properly manage the spinning phase. With the aim of optimizing the washing performance, this paper proposes a novel method to estimate the laundry unbalance and laundry inertia. The proposed approach does not require additional sensors, since it uses the already implemented motor control scheme, enhanced by a dedica... [more]

The high penetration of new device technologies, such as Electric Vehicles (EV), and Distributed Generation (DG) in Distribution Networks (DNs) has risen new consumption requirements. In this context, it becomes crucial to implement a flexible, functional and fast responsive management of the voltage level and Reactive Power (RP) in the DN. The latest improvements in the Solid State Switches (SSS) field demonstrate they can be used as a Power Electronic (PE) converter. In particular, they have been shown to be capable of operating synchronously with transformers, making the Hybrid Distribution Transformer (HT) concept a potential and cost-effective solution to various DN control issues. In this paper, a HT-based approach consisting of augmenting the conventional Low Voltage (LV) transformer with a fractionally rated PE converter for regulating and controlling the RP in the last mile of the DN is proposed. In this way, it is expected to meet the demand of the future DN from an efficienc... [more]

This paper presents a modified power factor correction (PFC) ON/OFF control and three-dimensional (3D) printed circuit board (PCB) design for a high-efficiency and high-power density onboard charger (OBC). By alternately operating one of two boost modules of the PFC stage at a 50% or less load condition, the proposed PFC control can reduce the load-independent power loss of the PFC stage, such as core loss and capacitor charging loss of switches. It enables OBCs to have high efficiency across a wide output power range and better thermal performance. The 3D-PCB design decouples a trade-off relationship of the PCB trace design and heat spreader design, increasing the power density of OBCs. A 3.3 kW prototype composed of an interleaved totem-pole bridgeless boost PFC converter and full-bridge (FB) LLC converter has been built and tested to verify the proposed PFC control and 3D-PCB effectiveness design. The prototype has 95.7% full power efficiency (98.2% PFC stage efficiency) and 52 W/in... [more]

This paper aims to develop an online diagnostic mechanism, doubling as a maximum power point tracking scheme, for a photovoltaic (PV) module array. In case of malfunction or shadow event occurring to a PV module, the presented diagnostic mechanism is enabled, automatically and immediately, to reconfigure a PV module array for maximum output power operation under arbitrary working conditions. Meanwhile, the malfunctioning or shaded PV module can be located instantly by this diagnostic mechanism according to the array configuration, and a PV module replacement process is made more efficient than ever before for the maintenance crew. In this manner, the intended maximum output power operation can be resumed as soon as possible in consideration of a minimum business loss. Using a particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based algorithm, the PV module array is reconfigured by means of switch manipulations between modules, such that a load is supplied with the maximum amount of output power. For co... [more]

In a battery-electric vehicle, a representative electric vehicle, there is a growing demand for performance and one-charge mileage improvement. As an alternative to such improvements, the capacity of the battery has been increased; however, due to the corresponding increase in the weight of the battery and the limited space in the vehicle, increasing the capacity of the battery also has limitations. Therefore, researches are being actively conducted to improve system operation efficiency to overcome such limitations. This paper proposes a distributing method of the driving forces to a battery-powered electric shuttle bus for last-mile mobility equipped with the decentralized driving system while taking into account voltage changes of the input terminals due to changes in the battery charge. The system operation efficiency changes were compared and evaluated by performing energy consumption analysis using ‘Manhattan Bus Driving Cycle’ at low voltage condition (SOC 20%). Various analyzes... [more]

The aim of this research was to identify energy saving instructions effect on household’s electricity consumption. The research was conducted using Randomized Control Trials, which implied defining a treatment and control group on a sample of 330 households. The research was carried out in Republic of Serbia, where electricity prices are the lowest in Europe and electricity is used inefficiently. For quantitative analysis of data, the Difference in Difference method was used, which compares the changes in electricity consumption over time between the treatment and control group and estimates the overall impact of the energy saving instructions. The research showed that in situations where electricity price is very low, energy saving information does not have the significant impact on change in consumer behavior. However, inefficient use of electricity might be due to the different efficiency of heating devices used. Not only that the low impact of information on energy saving habits ma... [more]

This paper proposes an energy management system (EMS) of direct current (DC) microgrid. In order to implement the proposed EMS, the control and operation method of EMS is presented in this work. While most of the studies have individually examined the grid-connected mode used in building and the stand-alone operation mode applicable to the island, the proposed EMS allows it to be used in both grid-connected mode and stand-alone mode with 10 modes. In order to determine each mode in EMS, not only the amount of generated power, load power, and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery, but also the rated power of the energy storage system (ESS) converter that performs charging and discharging operations is additionally considered. Thus, various uncertainties that may occur in the actual DC microgrid environment can be improved. A laboratory-scale DC microgrid is fabricated to conduct experimental validation of proposed EMS. Experiments of DC microgrid with proposed EMS were performed for... [more]

In the present work, the combustion of vitiated hydrogen jets issuing from differently shaped nozzles is modelled using the LES method. We investigate the impact of nozzle cross-sectional geometries (circular, square, triangular, hexagonal and hexagram) and the jet Reynolds numbers (Re= 18,000, 20,000 and 23,600) on the flame lift-off height, its structure, the locations of the temperature maxima and species distributions. The triangular nozzle yields the highest mixing rate and therefore the fastest decay of axial velocity and the fastest growth of the average temperature along the flame axis. It was found that for the largest Re, the zone of intense mixing and the reaction zone occur in distinct regions, while for the lower Re, these regions combine into an indistinguishable zone. Finally, it is shown that the lift-off height of the flames and the mean temperature field are non-linearly correlated with Re and strongly dependent on the nozzle shape.

The integration of multi-energy systems to meet the energy demand of buildings represents one of the most promising solutions for improving the energy performance of the sector. The energy flexibility provided by the building is paramount to allowing optimal management of the different available resources. The objective of this work is to highlight the effectiveness of exploiting building energy flexibility provided by thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) in order to manage multi-energy systems (MES) through model predictive control (MPC), such that energy flexibility can be regarded as an additional energy source in MESs. Considering the growing demand for space cooling, a case study in which the MPC is used to satisfy the cooling demand of a reference building is tested. The multi-energy sources include electricity from the power grid and photovoltaic modules (both of which are used to feed a variable-load heat pump), and a district cooling network. To evaluate the varying contri... [more]

Starting with the problem of connecting the photovoltaic (PV) system to the main grid, this article presents the control of a grid-connected PV system using fractional-order (FO) sliding mode control (SMC) and FO-synergetic controllers. The article presents the mathematical model of a PV system connected to the main grid together with the chain of intermediate elements and their control systems. To obtain a control system with superior performance, the robustness and superior performance of an SMC-type controller for the control of the udc voltage in the DC intermediate circuit are combined with the advantages provided by the flexibility of using synergetic control for the control of currents id and iq. In addition, these control techniques are suitable for the control of nonlinear systems, and it is not necessary to linearize the controlled system around a static operating point; thus, the control system achieved is robust to parametric variations and provides the required static and... [more]

The article presents the concept of voltage control in a medium-voltage network, using the classical control of a HV/MV (High Voltage/Medium Voltage) transformer and active participation of distributed generation sources. The proposed solution is based on the results of the optimization process. The objective function is considered as a single-criterion—the voltage quality indicator or value of power losses in the network, and optionally as two-criteria (voltage quality and losses combined, with appropriately selected weight factors). The analysis carried out for random selection of independent variables, using the original heuristic algorithm, indicated a very high efficiency of the proposed control process, compared to the traditional approach. A significant improvement in the voltage quality index and reduction of losses was found, which justifies the advisability of looking for new solutions in the field of voltage control in MV networks, taking into account active participation of... [more]

High-performance motor drives that operate in harsh conditions require an accurate and robust angular position measurement to correctly estimate the speed and reduce the torque ripple produced by angular estimation error. For that reason, a resolver is used in motor drives as a position sensor due to its robustness. A resolver-to-digital converter (RDC) is an observer used to get the angular position from the resolver signals. Most RDCs are based on angle tracking observers (ATOs). On the other hand, generalized predictive control (GPC) has become a powerful tool in developing controllers and observers for industrial applications. However, no GPC-based RDC with zero steady-state error during constant speed operation has been proposed. This paper proposes an RDC based on the second-order difference GPC (SOD-GPC). In SOD-GPC, the second-order difference operator is applied to design a GPC model with two embedded integrators. Thus, the SOD-GPC is used to design a type-II ATO whose steady-... [more]

This paper presents a new control strategy for reducing the switching losses produced by the use of high parasitic capacitance solar arrays in the sequential switching shunt regulator. Instead of dividing the solar array into equal sections, the proposed strategy is based on two different sections types, low-capacitance and high-capacitance ones. In order to reduce the switching losses and to maintain the original closed-loop response, a novel parallel power processing control strategy is implemented. With this new technique the low-capacitance sections are the only ones that switch at high frequency to regulate the bus while the high-capacitance sections are only connected or disconnected under high load power changes. In addition, the control closed loop delay associated to the time needed to charge the parasitic capacitance has been modelled and a controller modification is proposed to reduce AC performance degradation.

Multiagent control system (MACS) has become a promising solution for solving complex control problems. Using the advantages of MACS-based design approaches, a novel solution for advanced control of mechatronic systems has been developed in this paper. The study has aimed at integrating learning control into MACS. Specifically, learning feedforward control (LFFC) is implemented as a pattern for incorporation in MACS. The major novelty of this work is that the feedback control part is realized in a real-time periodic MACS, while the LFFC algorithm is done on-line, asynchronously, and in a separate non-real-time aperiodic MACS. As a result, a MACS-based LFFC design method has been developed. A second-order B-spline neural network (BSN) is used as a function approximator for LFFC whose input-output mapping can be adapted during control and is intended to become equal to the inverse model of the plant. To provide real-time features for the MACS-based LFFC system, the open robot control soft... [more]

The research on decomposition characteristics of SF6 and its by-products have great significance to the operation, maintenance, condition assessment and fault diagnosis of power equipment. In this paper, the particle composition models of SF6, SF6/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), SF6/PTFE/O2, SF6/PTFE/H2O, and SF6/PTFE/O2/H2O were established by using Gibbs free energy minimization method, and the effects of trace H2O and O2 impurities and PTFE vapour on SF6 by-products were studied by the models. In order to verify the correctness of the simulation results, a series of breaking experiments were carried out on a 40.5 kV SF6 circuit breaker, and a gas chromatograph was used to detect and analyse the SF6 by-products. It was found that when PTFE vapour is involved in the arc plasma, the main by-product after arc quenching is CF4, and the molar fractions of C2F6 and C3F8 are very low. When O2 is involved, the main by-products are SOF2, SO2 and SO2F2, and a small amount of CO and CO2 was als... [more]