This paper presents a novel auto-reclosing blocking method for combined overhead-cable lines in power distribution networks that are solidly or impedance grounded, with distribution transformers in a delta connection in their high-voltage sides. The main contribution of this new technique is that it can detect whether a ground fault has been produced at the overhead line side or at the cable line side, thus improving the performance of the auto-reclosing functionality. This localization technique is based on the measurements and analysis of the argument differences between the load currents in the active conductors of the cable and the currents in the shields at the cable end where the transformers in delta connection are installed, including a wavelet analysis. This technique has been verified through computer simulations and experimental laboratory tests.

The extended describing function (EDF) is a well-known method for modelling resonant converters due to its high accuracy. However, it requires complex mathematical formulation effort. This paper presents a simplified non-linear mathematical model of series-series (SS) compensated inductive power transfer (IPT) system, considering zero-voltage switching in the inverter. This simplified mathematical model permits the user to derive the small-signal model using the EDF method, with less computational effort, while maintaining the accuracy of an actual physical model. The derived model has been verified using a frequency sweep method in PLECS. The small-signal model has been used to design the voltage loop controller for a SS compensated IPT system. The designed controller was implemented on a 3.6 kW experimental setup, to test its robustness.

Global energy and material consumption are expected to rise in exponential proportions during the next few decades, generating huge demands for deep earth energy (oil/gas) recovery and mineral processing. Under such circumstances, the continuation of existing methods in rock fragmentation in such applications is questionable due to the proven adverse environmental impacts associated with them. In this regard; the possibility of using more environmentally friendly options as Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents (SCDAs) play a vital role in replacing harmful conventional rock fragmentation techniques for gas; oil and mineral recovery. This study reviews up to date research on soundless cracking demolition agent (SCDA) application on rock fracturing including its limitations and strengths, possible applications in the petroleum industry and the possibility of using existing rock fragmentation models for SCDA-based rock fragmentation; also known as fracking. Though the expansive properties... [more]

A B-spline neural networks-based adaptive control technique for angular speed reference trajectory tracking tasks with highly efficient performance for direct current shunt motors is proposed. A methodology for adaptive control and its proper training procedure are introduced. This algorithm sets the control signal without using a detailed mathematical model nor exact values of the parameters of the nonlinear dynamic system. The proposed robust adaptive tracking control scheme only requires measurements of the velocity output signal. Thus, real-time measurements or estimations of acceleration, current and disturbance signals are avoided. Experimental results confirm the efficient and robust performance of the proposed control approach for highly demanding motor operation conditions exposed to variable-speed reference trajectories and completely unknown load torque. Hence, laboratory experimental tests on a direct current shunt motor prove the viability of the proposed adaptive output f... [more]

In this paper a realistic medium voltage (MV) network with four different distributed generation technologies (diesel, gas, hydro and wind) along with their excitation and governor control systems is modelled and simulated. Moreover, an exponential model was used to represent the loads in the network. The dynamic and steady state behavior of the four distributed generation technologies was investigated during grid-connected operation and two transition modes to the islanding situation, planned and unplanned. This study aims to address the feasibility of planned islanding operation and to investigate the effect of unplanned islanding. The load sharing islanding method has been used for controlling the distributed generation units during grid-connected and islanding operation. The simulation results were validated through various case studies and have shown that properly planned islanding transition could provide support to critical loads at the event of utility outages. However, a relia... [more]

An increased use of variable generation technologies such as wind power and photovoltaic generation can have important effects on system frequency performance during normal operation as well as contingencies. The main reasons are the operational principles and inherent characteristics of these power plants like operation at maximum power point and no inertial response during power system imbalances. This has led to new challenges for Transmission System Operators in terms of ensuring system security during contingencies. In this context, this paper proposes a Robust Unit Commitment including a set of additional frequency stability constraints. To do this, a simplified dynamic model of the initial system frequency response is used in combination with historical frequency nadir data during contingencies. The proposed approach is especially suitable for power systems with cost-based economic dispatch like those in most Latin American countries. The study is done considering the Northern I... [more]

Dimethyl ether (DME)/diesel blended fuels are used to improve the emissions caused by spray wall impingement during the early injection period. However, experimental results have showed that the spray wall impingement still cannot be avoided due to the engine structure and low density of the in-cylinder charge at the early injection timing. Furthermore, the wall film formed in the spray wall impingement process directly affects fuel/air mixture formation, combustion, exhaust emissions and oil quality subsequently. In this paper, the wall film distribution of DME/diesel blended fuels formed during the spray wall impingement process has been experimentally investigated. The variations of wall film distribution, wall film area and average thickness with different injection pressures, impingement distances, impingement angles and blending ratios have been discussed under both dry wall and wet wall conditions. Results showed that the wall film distribution styles were mainly determined by t... [more]

Natural polluted insulator surfaces are always coated with various kinds of soluble constituents, and those constituents affect flashover performance differentially. Currently, this fact is not considered either in laboratory experiments or field pollution degree measurements, causing the existing insulation selection method to be deficient. In this paper, a systematic study on insulator flashover voltage gradient correction involving different types of soluble pollution constituents is presented. Using a typical type glass insulator as the sample, its flashover tests, polluted by typical soluble chemicals (NaCl, NaNO₃, KNO₃, NH₄NO₃, MgSO₄, Ca(NO₃)₂ and CaSO₄), were carried out. Then, the flashover gradient correction was made by combining the flashover performance of each soluble constituent, the equivalent salt deposit density (ESDD) contribution of the seven constituents, and the saturation performance of CaSO₄. The correction agreed with the flashover test results of insulator poll... [more]

According to recent technology road maps, system cost reductions and development of standardised plug-and-function systems are some of the most important goals for solar heating technology development. Retrofitting hot water boilers in single-family houses when installing solar collectors has the potential to significantly reduce both material and installation costs. Previous studies have investigated such retrofitting, using theoretical simulations and laboratory tests, but no actual installations were made and tested in practice. This article describes the installation, measured performance and cost effectiveness of a retrofitting solution that converts existing domestic hot water heaters to a solar domestic hot water system. The measured performance is characterised by the monthly and annual solar fractions. The cost effectiveness is evaluated by a life-cycle cost analysis, comparing the retrofitted system to a conventional solar domestic hot water system and the case without any so... [more]

High quality polycrystalline bilayers of aluminium doped ZnO (Al:ZnO) were successively electrodeposited in the form of columnar structures preferentially oriented along the ( 10 1 ¯ 1 ) crystallographic direction from aqueous solution of zinc nitrate (Zn(NO₃)₂) at negative electrochemical potential of EC = (−0.8)⁻(−1.2) V and moderate temperature of 80 °C on gallium rich (30% Ga) chalcopyrite selenide Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) with chemically deposited ZnSe buffer (ZnSe/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂/Mo/glass). The aluminium doped ZnO layer properties have initially been probed by deposition of Al:ZnO/i-ZnO bilayers directly on Mo/glass substrates. The band-gap energy of the Al:ZnO/i-ZnO reference layers was found to vary from 3.2 to 3.7 eV by varying the AlCl₃ solute dopant concentration from 1 to 20 mM. The electrical resistivity of indium-pellet contacted highly doped Al:ZnO sheet of In/Al:ZnO/i-ZnO/Mo/glass reference samples was of the order ρ ~10−5 Ω·cm; the respective carrier concentratio... [more]

Shares of renewables continue to grow in the European power system. A fully renewable European power system will primarily depend on the renewable power sources of wind and photovoltaics (PV), which are not dispatchable but intermittent and therefore pose a challenge to the balancing of the power system. To overcome this issue, several solutions have been proposed and investigated in the past, including storage, backup power, reinforcement of the transmission grid, and demand side management (DSM). In this paper, we investigate the potential of DSM to balance a simplified, fully renewable European power system. For this purpose, we use ten years of weather and historical load data, a power-flow model and the implementation of demand side management as a storage equivalent, to investigate the impact of DSM on the need for backup energy. We show that DSM has the potential to reduce the need for backup energy in Europe by up to one third and can cover the need for backup up to a renewable... [more]

The simultaneous aggregation of multiple component carriers (CCs) for use by a base station constitutes one of the more promising strategies for providing substantially enhanced bandwidths for packet transmissions in 4th and 5th generation cellular systems. To the best of our knowledge, however, few previous studies have undertaken a thorough investigation of various performance aspects of the use of a simple yet effective packet scheduling algorithm in which multiple CCs are aggregated for transmission in such systems. Consequently, the present study presents an efficient packet scheduling algorithm designed on the basis of the proportional fair criterion for use in multiple-CC systems for downlink transmission. The proposed algorithm includes a focus on providing simultaneous transmission support for both real-time (RT) and non-RT traffic. This algorithm can, when applied with sufficiently efficient designs, provide adequate utilization of spectrum resources for the purposes of trans... [more]

Liquid carbon dioxide-assisted (LCO₂-assisted) atomization can be used in coal-water slurry gasification plants to prevent the agglomeration of coal particles. It is essential to understand the atomization behavior of the water-LCO₂ mixture leaving the injector nozzle under various conditions, including the CO₂ blending ratio, injection pressure, and chamber pressure. In this study, the flash-atomization behavior of a water-LCO₂ mixture was evaluated with regard to the spray angle and penetration length during a throttling process. The injector nozzle was mounted downstream of a high-pressure spray-visualization system. Based on the results, the optimal condition for the effective transport of coal particles was proposed.

Assessments of the feasibility of decoupling energy consumption from economic growth could benefit from an improved understanding of the size, nature and value of different energy flows. This understanding may be enhanced by focusing upon so-called “useful exergy”—a measure of both the quantity and “quality” of energy (defined here as its thermodynamic ability to perform physical work) at the “useful” stage of the energy conversion chain. Useful exergy flows within national economies are increasingly being quantified and their role in economic activity explored. However, this so-called “exergy economics” field currently lacks a consistent methodology. This paper contributes to the development of a more consistent approach. By constructing a “useful exergy account” for the United Kingdom covering the period 1960⁻2012, we explore how different methodological choices influence estimates of useful exergy for different categories of end-use as well as estimates of total national useful exer... [more]

In July 2013, the Italian photovoltaic (PV) support policies changed the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism and turned to a tax credits program, which is currently in force. The aim of this paper is to investigate how such a radical change has influenced the electricity demand coverage of the PV systems installed in urban contexts. A methodology, which connects the economic assessment to a detailed architectural and energy suitability analysis, was applied to some case studies to analyse the relationships between the physical parameters related to multi-storey buildings (roof shapes, number of floors and area of flats) and the most relevant economic and financial features affecting the viability of rooftop PV systems. The study, which considers only the electricity produced by the PV systems that are economically profitable, highlighted that the tax credits scheme is even more effective in covering the electrical consumption of densely urbanised Italian city districts. The results, which a... [more]

The aging of oil-paper insulation in power transformers may cause serious power failures. Thus, effective monitoring of the condition of the transformer insulation is the key to prevent major accidents. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of confocal laser Raman spectroscopy (CLRS) for assessing the aging condition of oil-paper insulation. Oil-paper insulation samples were subjected to thermal accelerated ageing at 120 °C for up to 160 days according to the procedure described in the IEEE Guide. Meanwhile, the dimension of the Raman spectrum of the insulation oil was reduced by principal component analysis (PCA). The 160 oil-paper insulation samples were divided into five aging stages as training samples by clustering analysis and with the use of the degree of polymerization of the insulating papers. In addition, the features of the Raman spectrum were used as the inputs of a multi-classification support vector machine. Finally, 105 oil-paper insulation testing sam... [more]

In low-voltage converter-based alternating current (AC) microgrids with resistive distribution lines, the P-V droop with Q-f boost (VPD/FQB) is the most common method for load sharing. However, it cannot achieve the active power sharing proportionally. To overcome this drawback, the conventional P-ω/Q-V droop control is adopted in the low-voltage AC microgrid. As a result, the active power sharing among the distributed generators (DGs) is easily obtained without communication. More importantly, this study clears up the previous misunderstanding that conventional P-ω/Q-V droop control is only applicable to microgrids with highly inductive lines, and lays a foundation for the application of conventional droop control under different line impedances. Moreover, in order to guarantee the accurate reactive power sharing, a guide for designing Q-V droop gains is given, and virtual resistance is adopted to shape the desired output impedance. Finally, the effects of power sharing and transient... [more]

The rotor design of Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRMs) has a large effect on their efficiency, torque density and torque ripple. In order to achieve a good compromise between these three goals, an optimized rotor geometry is necessary. A finite element method (FEM) is a good tool for the optimization. However, the computation time is an obstacle as there are many geometrical parameters to be optimized. The flux-barrier widths and angles are the two most crucial parameters for the SynRM output torque and torque ripple. This paper proposes an easy-to-use set of parametrized equations to select appropriate values for these two rotor parameters. With these equations, the reader can design a SynRM of distributed windings with a low torque ripple and with a better average torque. The methodology is valid for a wide range of SynRMs. To check the validity of the proposed equations, the sensitivity analysis for the variation of these two parameters on the SynRM torque and torque ripple is c... [more]

The power industry is the main battlefield of CO₂ emission reduction, which plays an important role in the implementation and development of the low carbon economy. The forecasting of electricity demand can provide a scientific basis for the country to formulate a power industry development strategy and further promote the sustained, healthy and rapid development of the national economy. Under the goal of low-carbon economy, medium and long term electricity demand forecasting will have very important practical significance. In this paper, a new hybrid electricity demand model framework is characterized as follows: firstly, integration of grey relation degree (GRD) with induced ordered weighted harmonic averaging operator (IOWHA) to propose a new weight determination method of hybrid forecasting model on basis of forecasting accuracy as induced variables is presented; secondly, utilization of the proposed weight determination method to construct the optimal hybrid forecasting model base... [more]

This experimental work studies a small-scale biomass combustor (5⁻12 kW) with an underfed fixed bed using low air staging ratios (15%⁻30%). This document focuses on the influence of the operative parameters on the combustion process, so gaseous emissions and the distribution and concentration of particulate matter have also been recorded. The facility shows good stability and test repeatability. For the studied airflow ranges, the results show that increasing the total airflow rate does not increase the overall air excess ratio because the burning rate is proportionally enhanced (with some slight differences that depend on the air staging ratio). Consequently, the heterogeneous reactions at the bed remain in the so-called oxygen-limited region, and thus the entire bed operates under sub-stoichiometric conditions with regards of the char content of the biomass. In addition, tests using only primary air (no staging) may increase the fuel consumption, but in a highly incomplete way, appro... [more]

The flow induced vibration and energy extraction of an equilateral triangle prism elastically mounted in a water channel are investigated experimentally at different system damping ratios ζtotal with the constant oscillating mass Mosc and system stiffness K. A power take-off system with a variable damping function is developed. The translation-rotation equation of the vibration system deduced in the study indicates that the total oscillating mass includes the material mass, and the equivalent mass due to the rotation of the gears and rotor. Besides, increasing load resistance can result in a decrease in ζtotal when K and Mosc remain unchanged. The prism experiences, in turn, soft galloping, hard galloping 1 and hard galloping 2 with increasing ζtotal. As ζtotal increases up to 0.335, only the vortex-induced vibration is observed because the extremely high ζtotal prevents the prism from galloping. The response amplitude decreases with the increasing ζtotal. In addition, higher ζtotal pr... [more]

Marine energy sources represent an attractive and inexhaustible reservoir able to contribute to the fulfillment of the world energy demand in accordance with climate/energy regulatory frameworks. Wave energy converter (WEC) integration into the main grid requires both the maximization of the harvested energy and the proper management of the generation variability. The present paper focuses on both these mentioned issues. More specifically, it presents an embedded point pivoted absorber (PPA) and its related control strategy aimed at maximizing the harvested energy. Experimental and numerical investigations have been carried out in a wave/towing tank facility in order to derive the design characteristics of the full-scale model and demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

The increasing growth in power demand and the penetration of renewable distributed generations in competitive electricity market demands large and flexible capacity from the transmission grid to reduce transmission bottlenecks. The bottlenecks cause transmission congestion, reliability problems, restrict competition, and limit the maximum dispatch of low cost generations in the network. The electricity system requires efficient utilization of the current transmission capability to improve the Available Transfer Capability (ATC). To improve the ATC, power flow among the lines can be managed by using Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices as power flow controllers, which alter the parameters of power lines. It is important to place FACTS devices on suitable lines to vary the reactance for improving Total Transmission Capacity (TTC) of the network and provide flexibility in the power flow. In this paper a transmission network is analyzed based on line parameters variation to impr... [more]

The inductive power transfer (IPT) system for electric vehicle (EV) charging has acquired more research interest in its different facets. However, the misalignment tolerance between the charging coil (installed in the ground) and pick-up coil (mounted on the car chassis), has been a challenge and fundamental interest in the future market of EVs. This paper proposes a new coil design QDQ (Quad D Quadrature) that maintains the high coupling coefficient and efficient power transfer during reasonable misalignment. The QDQ design makes the use of four adjacent circular coils and one square coil, for both charging and pick-up side, to capture the maximum flux at any position. The coil design has been modeled in JMAG software for calculation of inductive parameters using the finite element method (FEM), and its hardware has been tested experimentally at various misaligned positions. The QDQ coils are shown to be capable of achieving good coupling coefficient and high efficiency of the system... [more]

The technological process of exploitation of mineral resources and processing of mined ores to cater to the market results, among other things, in a large amount of tailings deposed on tailing ponds. Because of the chemical composition of the material, the increasing amount of waste, and the mismanagement of recovery and reclamation of ponds, these ponds have become a significant element of negative impact on the surrounding ecosystem. Economics was behind the discharging of this material, resulting in tailing ponds created in inappropriate areas. There is an ongoing process of depositing tailings on old tailing ponds, although no special attention has been paid to the subsequent effect on the environment. Application of intelligent multi-criteria analysis AHP and PROMETHEE has been performed in this paper for the purpose of ranking the degree of negative impact on the environment of tailing ponds. Analysis is performed for five tailing ponds of MMCC (Mining Metallurgy Chemical Combine... [more]