Gas-fired power units (GFUs) are the best technology in recent years due to lower natural gas prices, higher energy transformation performance, and lower CO2 emission, as compared to the conventional power units (CPUs). A permanent storage facility called power-to-gas (P2G) technology can provide adaptation of ever-increasing renewable energy sources (RESs) fluctuations in power system operations, as well as reduce dependency to buy natural gas from the gas network. High investment and utilization expenditures of state-of-the-art P2G technology do not lead to economically effective operation individually. Therefore, in the present paper, an integrated GFUs-P2G-wind power unit (WPU) system is proposed to determine its optimal bidding strategy in the day-ahead energy market. A robust optimization approach is also taken into account to accommodate the proposed bidding strategy within the electricity price uncertainty environment. This problem was studied by using a case study that include... [more]

It is important to understand the effect of increasing electric vehicles (EV) penetrations on the existing electricity transmission infrastructure and to find ways to mitigate it. While, the easiest solution is to opt for equipment upgrades, the potential for reducing overloading, in terms of voltage drops, and line loading by way of optimization of the locations at which EVs can charge, is significant. To investigate this, a heuristic optimization approach is proposed to optimize EV charging locations within one feeder, while minimizing nodal voltage drops, cable loading and overall cable losses. The optimization approach is compared to typical unoptimized results of a monte-carlo analysis. The results show a reduction in peak line loading in a typical benchmark 0.4 kV by up to 10%. Further results show an increase in voltage available at different nodes by up to 7 V in the worst case and 1.5 V on average. Optimization for a reduction in transmission losses shows insignificant savings... [more]

Although cow manure is a valuable natural fertilizer, it is also a source of extreme greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane. For this reason, this study aims to determine the impact of investments in a biogas plant on the energy and economic aspects of the operation of a dairy farm. A farm with a breeding size of 600 livestock units (LSU) was adopted for the analysis. In order to reach the paper’s aim, the analysis of two different scenarios of dairy farm functioning (conventional−only milk production, and modern−with biogas plant exploitation) was conducted. The analysis showed that the investment in biogas plant operations at a dairy farm and in using cow manure as one of the main substrates is a more profitable scenario compared to traditional dairy farming. Taking into account the actual Polish subsidies for electricity produced by small biogas plants, the scenario with a functioning biogas plant with a capacity of 500 kW brings €332,000/a more profit compared to the conventional... [more]

Owing to the increasing utilization of renewable energy resources, distributed energy resources (DERs) become inevitably uncertain, and microgrid operators have difficulty in operating the power systems because of this uncertainty. In this study, we propose a two-stage optimization approach with a hybrid demand response program (DRP) considering a risk index for microgrids (MGs) under uncertainty. The risk-based hybrid DRP is presented to reduce both operational costs and uncertainty effect using demand response elasticity. The problem is formulated as a two-stage optimization that considers not only the expected operation costs but also risk expense of uncertainty. To address the optimization problem, an improved multi-layer artificial bee colony (IML-ABC) is incorporated into the MG operation. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a numerical analysis based on a typical low-voltage grid-connected MG. As a result, the proposed approach can reduce the opera... [more]

Motorized spindle system is one of the crucial components affecting the machine tools energy performance. Many previous studies have examined its energy optimization problems, however, most such studies focused mainly on parameters optimization to improve material removal energy efficiency or reduce total energy consumption. A missing research area is energy optimization problem considering thermal stability and productivity constraints simultaneously. Against this background, an energy optimization approach of motorized spindle system is presented with consideration of thermal stability and productivity adequately, with the goal of maximization of energy efficiency and material removal rate, and minimization of spindle average temperature which is closely associated with thermal stability. Firstly, the energy characteristics of motorized spindle and its cooling system are mathematically modelled. Then, a multi-objective optimization model is established to take the maximum energy effi... [more]

Si/PEDOT: PSS solar cell is an optional photovoltaic device owing to its promising high photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) and economic manufacture process. In this work, dopamine@graphene was firstly introduced between the silicon substrate and PEDOT:PSS film for Si/PEDOT: PSS solar cell. The dopamine@graphene was proved to be effective in improving the PCE, and the influence of mechanical properties of dopamine@graphene on solar cell performance was revealed. When dopamine@graphene was incorporated into the cell preparation, the antireflection ability of the cell was enhanced within the wavelength range of 300~450 and 650~1100 nm. The enhanced antireflection ability would benefit amount of the photon-generated carriers. The electrochemical impedance spectra test revealed that the introduction of dopamine@graphene could facilitate the separation of carriers and improve the junction quality. Thus, the short-circuit current density and fill factor were both promoted, which led to... [more]

The forecasted electricity demand in Saudi Arabia may be around 120 GW/year by 2032. As per the latest government announcement, Saudi Arabia is aiming to install 57.5 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. In this study, firstly, a wind map is developed based on the historical wind data, recorded over a 39-year period, followed by the development of the geographic information system (GIS)-based multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model for suitable wind farm site selection for Hijaz, the western region of Saudi Arabia. This region is selected as it has a population density of around 25 per sq. km, the highest in Saudi Arabia. For the model, data from various ecological, environmental, and socioeconomic criteria are considered. Finally, the optimization of the wind farm layout on the identified suitable region of 5.5 km × 4 km is performed using the deep-array wake model, DAWM. The optimized layout has locations for 30 wind turbines of 3 MW rated capacity. This optimization process... [more]

Skin and proximity effects have a considerable impact on current distribution in multistrand cable lines. Under unfavorable heat exchange conditions, some strands may be subject to excessive overheating, which may lead to serious malfunctions or even fires of the installation. The paper proposes a new criterion for a quick choice of spatial configurations, for which the effect might be minimized. A comprehensive analysis of literature cases is provided, including the recommendations of the U.S. National Code and the Canadian standard.

We report on the fabrication and study of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells based on a novel combination of a donor−acceptor poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(N,N0-diphenyl)-N,N′di(p-butyl-oxy-pheyl)-1,4-diamino-benzene) (PFB) and [6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend composed of 1:1 by volume. indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/PFB−PCBM/Ag BHJ solar cells are fabricated by a facile cost-effective spin-coating technique. The thickness of the active film (PFB−PCBM) plays an important role in the efficiency of light absorption, exciton creation, and dissociation into free charges that results in higher power conversion efficiency (PCE). In order to optimize the PCE as a function of active layer thickness, a number of solar cells are fabricated with different thicknesses of PFB−PCBM films at 120, 140, 160, 180, and 200 nm, and their photovoltaic characteristics are investigated. It is observed that the de... [more]

The aircraft ice protection system that can guarantee flight safety consumes a part of the energy of the aircraft, which is necessary to be optimized. A study for the mechanism of the heat load reduction in the thermal anti-icing system under the evaporative mode was presented. Based on the relationship between the anti-icing heat load and the heating power distribution, an optimization method involved in the genetic algorithm was adopted to optimize the anti-icing heat load and obtain the optimal heating power distribution. An experiment carried out in an icing wind tunnel was conducted to validate the optimized results. The mechanism of the anti-icing heat load reduction was revealed by analyzing the influences of the key factors, such as the heating range, the surface temperature and the convective heat transfer coefficient. The results show that the reduction in the anti-icing heat load is actually the decrease in the convective heat load. In the evaporative mode, decreasing the he... [more]

Electric vehicles represent a necessary alternative for wheeled transportation to meet the global and national targets specified in the Paris Agreement of 2016. However, the high concentration of electric vehicles exposes their harmful effects on the power grid. This reflects negatively on electricity market prices, making the charging of electric vehicles less cost-effective. This study investigates the economic potential of different charging strategies for an existing office site in Austria with multiple charging infrastructures. For this purpose, a proper mathematical representation of the investigated case study is needed in order to define multiple optimization problems that are able to determine the financial potential of different charging strategies. This paper presents a method to implement electric vehicles and stationary battery storage in optimization problems with the exclusive use of linear relationships and applies it to a real-life use case with measured data to prove... [more]

Gun firing is a process that converts propellant chemical energy to projectile kinetic energy and other kinds of energies. In order to explore the energy conversion process, firstly, the interior ballistics mathematical model and the barrel-projectile finite element model are built and solved. Then, the related variable values and energy values are obtained and discussed. Finally, for improving energy efficiency, the interval uncertainty optimization problem is modeled, and then solved using the two-layer nested optimization strategy and back-propagation (BP) neural network surrogate model. Calculation results show that, after optimization, the heat efficiency raises from 31.13% to 33.05% and the max rifling stress decreases from 893.68 to 859.76 Mpa, which would improve the firing performance and prolong the lifetime of the gun barrel.

Replacing traditional internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) proves to be challenging for the transport sector, particularly due to the higher initial investment. As EVs could be more profitable by participating in the electricity markets, the aim of this paper is to investigate revenue potentials when marketing bidirectionally chargeable electric vehicles in the spot market. To simulate a realistic marketing behavior of electric vehicles, a mixed integer linear, rolling horizon optimization model is formulated considering real trading times in the day-ahead and intraday market. Results suggest that revenue potentials are strongly dependent on the EV pool, the user behavior and the regulatory framework. Modeled potential revenues of EVs of current average size marketed with 2019 German day-ahead prices are found to be at around 200 €/EV/a, which is comparable to other findings in literature, and go up to 500 €/EV/a for consecutive trading in German day-ahead a... [more]

This paper presents an improved inverse-time over-current protection method based on the compound fault acceleration factor and the beetle antennae search (BAS) optimization method for a microgrid. The proposed method can not only significantly increase the operation speed of the inverse-time over-current protection but also improve the protection coordination by considering the possible influential factors in terms of microgrid operation modes, distributed generation (DG) integration status, fault types, and positions, which are marked as the most challenging problems for over-current protection of a microgrid. In this paper, a new Time Dial Setting (TDS) of inverse-time protection is developed by applying a compound fault acceleration factor, which can notably accelerate the speed of protection by using low-voltage and short-circuit impedance during the fault. In order to improve the protection coordination, the BAS algorithm is then used to optimize the protection parameters of the... [more]

The appropriate planning of electric power systems has a significant effect on the economic situation of countries. For the protection and reliability of the power system, the optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem is an essential issue. The ORPD is a non-linear, non-convex, and continuous or non-continuous optimization problem. Therefore, introducing a reliable optimizer is a challenging task to solve this optimization problem. This study proposes a robust and flexible optimization algorithm with the minimum adjustable parameters named Improved Marine Predators Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization (IMPAPSO) algorithm, for dealing with the non-linearity of ORPD. The IMPAPSO is evaluated using various test cases, including IEEE 30 bus, IEEE 57 bus, and IEEE 118 bus systems. An effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm was verified through a rigorous comparative study with other optimization methods. There was a noticeable enhancement in the electric power network... [more]

Photovoltaic system is utilized to generate energy that relies upon the ecological conditions, for example, temperature, irradiance, and the load associated with it. Considering the non-linear component of photovoltaic (PV) array and the issue of low effectiveness because of the variable natural conditions, the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) method is required to extract the maximum power from the PV system. The adopted control is executed utilizing an Adaptive Sliding Mode Controller (ASMC) and the enhancement is actualized utilizing an Improved Pattern Search Method (IPSM). This work employs IPSM based optimization approach in order to command the underlying ASMC controller. The upper level decision determines the sliding surface for the adaptive controller. As a non-linear strategy, the stability of the adaptive controller is guaranteed by conducting a Liapunov analysis. On the practical side, MATLAB/Simulink is used as simulator for the controller implementation and coupling w... [more]

Waste solid residue from the hydrothermal extraction of pectin derived from sugar beet pulp was used as feedstock in the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). The depolymerization of pectin-free sugar beet pulp (PF-SBP) to monosaccharides and their dehydration to 5-HMF were conducted in subcritical water using a batch reactor. The experimental design methodology was used in order to model the hydrothermal process and to optimize the operational parameters of the reaction, namely temperature and holding time. These parameters are required to achieve the highest yield of 5-HMF. The model predicts, in good agreement with experimental results (R2 = 0.935), an optimal yield of 5-HMF (of approximately 38% in relation to the cellulosic fraction content in the PF-SBP) at a temperature of 192.5 °C and a holding time of about 51.2 min. 5-HMF was successfully isolated from the reaction mixture using the liquid−liquid extraction method. The results are suitable for industrial upscaling an... [more]

The use of fossil resources for electricity production is one of the primary reasons for increasing greenhouse emissions and is a non-renewable resource. Therefore, the electricity generation by wind and solar resources have had greater applicability in recent years. Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) integrates renewable sources and storage systems, increasing the reliability of generators. For the sizing of HRES, Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods such as Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) stand out. This article presents the sizing of an HRES for the Colombian context, taking into account the energy consumption by three typical demands, four types of wind turbines, three types of solar panels, and a storage system for the system configuration. Two optimization approaches were set-up with both optimization strategies (i.e., GA and PSO). The first one implies the minimization of the Loss Power Supply Probability (LPSP). In contrast, the second one conc... [more]

Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) could be applied clinically for the laser therapy of Ota’s nevus, a dermal hyperplastic pigmented disease with a morbidity rate of 0.1−0.6% in the Asian population. An accurate, efficient, complete simulation system that considers the entire spray cooling process, including cryogen flow in the tube nozzle, spray dynamics and internal phase change heat transfer (cold injury) in skin tissue, was established to determine suitable cryogen and cooling parameters. The optimum spray distances for R134a, R404A and R32 were determined to be 66.0, 43.1 and 22.5 mm, respectively. The corresponding maximum surface heat fluxes were 363.5, 459.9, and 603.6 kW∙m−2, respectively. The maximum surface heat flux of R32 with small spray distance was 1.66 times as large as that of R134a, indicating the potentially good cooling performance and precise targeted cooling of R32 during the laser therapy of Ota’s nevus. The cooling durations that caused cold injury of skin tissue were... [more]

This article presents the Reliability Assessment (RA) of renewable energy interfaced Electrical Distribution System (EDS) considering the electrical loss minimization (ELM). ELM aims at minimizing the detrimental effect of real power and reactive power losses in the EDS. Some techniques, including integration of Renewable Energy Source (RES), network reconfiguration, and expansion planning, have been suggested in the literature for achieving ELM. The optimal RES integration (also referred to as Distributed Generation (DG)) is one of the globally accepted techniques to achieve minimization of electrical losses. Therefore, first, the locations to accommodate these DGs are obtained by implementing two indexes, namely Index-1 for single DG and Index-2 for multiple DGs. Second, a Constriction Factor-based Particle Swarm Optimization (CF-PSO) technique is applied to obtain an optimal sizing(s) of the DGs for achieving the ELM. Third, the RA of the EDS is performed using the optimal location(... [more]

The adoption of electric vehicles is incentivized by governments around the world to decarbonize the mobility sector. Simultaneously, the continuously increasing amount of renewable energy sources and electric devices such as heat pumps and electric vehicles leads to congested grids. To meet this challenge, several forms of flexibility markets are currently being researched. So far, no analysis has calculated the actual flexibility potential of electric vehicles with different operating strategies, electricity tariffs and charging power levels while taking into account realistic user behavior. Therefore, this paper presents a detailed case study of the flexibility potential of electric vehicles for fixed and dynamic prices, for three charging power levels in consideration of Californian and German user behavior. The model developed uses vehicle and mobility data that is publicly available from field trials in the USA and Germany, cost-optimizes the charging process of the vehicles, and... [more]

As renewable energy installation costs decrease and environmentally-friendly policies are progressively applied in many countries, distributed generation has emerged as the new archetype of energy generation and distribution. The design and economic feasibility of distributed generation systems is constrained by the operation of the microgrid, which has to consider the uncertainty of renewable energy sources, consumption habits and electricity market prices. In this paper, a mathematical model intended to optimize the design and economic feasibility of a microgrid is proposed. After a search in the state-of-the-art, weaknesses and strengths of existing models have been identified and taken into account for building the present model. The present model should be seen as a basis on which other models can be built upon, hence a complete definition of the different sub-models is stated: uncertainty modelling, optimization technique, physical constraints and regulatory framework. One of the... [more]

Hot water supply is one of the leading consumers of energy in the building sector in cold climate areas. The use of woody biomass is effective in reducing CO2 emissions in hot-water supply systems. This report deals with a system that combines a wood pellet boiler (PB) and a heat pump system with CO2 (CO2HP) that is used in a facility for disabled people. The following research was conducted. The operation of a hybrid system combining a PB and CO2HPs was investigated. While operating the system, four specific operations were developed as countermeasures to save on costs and reduce system troubles while reducing CO2 emissions. The processes and results are introduced. Numerical simulations were carried out to optimize the operation. The hot water temperature, water volume, and hot water loads were simulated. The influence of the water volume ratio on the cost and primary energy consumption under the requirements for safe system operation was studied. The regional economic ripple effects... [more]

In this paper, we propose using particle swarm optimization (PSO) which can improve weighted k-nearest neighbors (PWKNN) to diagnose the failure of a wind power system. PWKNN adjusts weight to correctly reflect the importance of features and uses the distance judgment strategy to figure out the identical probability of multi-label classification. The PSO optimizes the weight and parameter k of PWKNN. This testing is based on four classified conditions of the 300 W wind generator which include healthy, loss of lubrication in the gearbox, angular misaligned rotor, and bearing fault. Current signals are used to measure the conditions. This testing tends to establish a feature database that makes up or trains classifiers through feature extraction. Not lowering the classification accuracy, the correlation coefficient of feature selection is applied to eliminate irrelevant features and to diminish the runtime of classifiers. A comparison with other traditional classifiers, i.e., backpropaga... [more]

This work focused on the application of a microchannel contactor for CO2 capture using water as absorbent, especially for the application of CO2-rich gas. The influence of operating conditions (temperature, volumetric flow rate of gas and liquid, and CO2 concentration) on the absorption efficiency and the overall liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient was presented in terms of the main effects and interactions based on the factorial design of experiments. It was found that 70.9% of CO2 capture was achieved under the operating conditions as follows; temperature of 50 °C, CO2 inlet fraction of 53.7%, total gas volumetric flow rate of 150 mL min−1, and adsorbent volumetric flow rate of 1 mL min−1. Outstanding performance of CO2 capture was demonstrated with the overall liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient of 0.26 s−1. Further enhancing the system by using 2.2 M of monoethanolamine in water (1:1 molar ratio of MEA-to-CO2) boosted the absorption efficiency up to 88%.