Heat at high temperatures, in this work 400⁻650 °C, can be recovered by use of cooling panels/heat pipes in the walls of aluminum electrolysis cells. For this application a flat vertical heat pipe for heat transfer from a unilateral heat source was analyzed theoretically and in the laboratory, with special emphasis on the performance of the wick. In this heat pipe a wick of compressed nickel foam covered only the evaporator surface, and potassium was used as the working fluid. The magnitudes of key thermal resistances were estimated analytically and compared. Operating temperatures and wick performance limits obtained experimentally were compared to predictions. Thermal deformation due to unilateral heat flux was analyzed by the use of COMSOL Multiphysics®. The consequences of hot spots at different locations on the wick were analyzed by use of a numerical 2D model. A vertical rectangular wick was shown to be most vulnerable to hot spots at the upper corners.

Grid-enabled vehicles (GEVs) such as plug-in electric vehicles present environmental and energy sustainability advantages compared to conventional vehicles. GEV runs solely on power generated by its own battery group, which supplies power to its electric motor. This battery group can be charged from external electric sources. Nowadays, the interaction of GEV with the power grid is unidirectional by the charging process. However, GEV can be operated bi-directionally by modifying its power unit. In such operating conditions, GEV can operate as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and satisfy a portion or the total energy demand of the consumption center independent from utility grid, which is known as vehicle-to-home (V2H). In this paper, a power unit is developed for GEVs in the laboratory to conduct simulation and experimental studies to test the performance of GEVs as a UPS unit in V2H mode at the time of need. The activation and deactivation of the power unit and islanding protectio... [more]

To capture the hydraulic fractures in heterogeneous and layered rocks, a numerical code that can consider the coupled effects of fluid flow, damage, and stress field in rocks is presented. Based on the characteristics of a typical thin and inter-bedded sedimentary reservoir, China, a series of simulations on the hydraulic fracturing are performed. In the simulations, three points, i.e., (1) confining stresses, representing the effect of in situ stresses, (2) strength of the interfaces, and (3) material properties of the layers on either side of the interface, are crucial in fracturing across interfaces between two adjacent rock layers. Numerical results show that the hydrofracture propagation within a layered sequence of sedimentary rocks is controlled by changing in situ stresses, interface properties, and lithologies. The path of the hydraulic fracture is characterized by numerous deflections, branchings, and terminations. Four types of potential interaction, i.e., penetration, arres... [more]

In this paper, the spatio-temporal (multi-channel) linear models, which use temporal and the neighbouring wind speed measurements around the target location, for the best short-term wind speed forecasting are investigated. Multi-channel autoregressive moving average (MARMA) models are formulated in matrix form and efficient linear prediction coefficient estimation techniques are first used and revised. It is shown in detail how to apply these MARMA models to the spatially distributed wind speed measurements. The proposed MARMA models are tested using real wind speed measurements which are collected from the five stations around Canakkale region of Turkey. According to the test results, considerable improvements are observed over the well known persistence, autoregressive (AR) and multi-channel/vector autoregressive (VAR) models. It is also shown that the model can predict wind speed very fast (in milliseconds) which is suitable for the immediate short-term forecasting.

When faults and disturbances occur in power systems, backup power resources respond to maintain the system’s frequency, and the frequency recovery effect is related to the primary frequency regulation of the reserve capacity provided by and the response speeds of the system’s generating units and interruptible loads. The relationships between a system’s frequency and the frequency regulation capacity of the generating units and the interruptible loads are different. In this paper, an index for the frequency recovery effect is proposed based on the static frequency adjustment coefficient of the interruptible load and the adjustment coefficients of the generating units, and an optimization model of an interruptible load participating in primary frequency regulation is built with the objective of minimizing the cost of the primary frequency regulation reserve that uses the system’s frequency recovery effect as a constraint. The simulation results verify the validity of the model.

As an important part of the global ecosystem, wetlands and their dynamics greatly influence regional eco-environment systems. To understand the distributions, change processes and temporal-spatial characteristics of the wetlands of the inland river basin in an arid region (Heihe River Basin, HRB), this paper employed multi-source remote sensing data to facilitate multi-temporal monitoring of the HRB wetland using a wetland information extraction method. First, we performed monitoring of these wetlands for the years 2000, 2007, 2011 and 2014; then, we analyzed the variation characteristics of the spatial-temporal dynamics of the wetlands in the HRB over the last 15 years via the landscape dynamic change model and the transformation matrix. In addition, we studied the possible driving mechanisms of these changes. The research results showed that the total area of the HRB wetlands had decreased by 2959.13 hectares in the last 15 years (Since 2000), and the annual average loss was −1.09%.... [more]

The application of energy storage in offshore renewable generation systems allows managing the intrinsic uncertainty of the resources and improving the utilization factor of the electrical network. Optimal storage design algorithms generally have to evaluate the behavior of the whole system thousands times before converging to the optimal solution and the reliability of the results obviously depends on the quality of input data. On the other hand, the utilization of simplified storage models in the design stage can reduce the simulation time drastically, while still providing useful information. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the applicability of a methodology for sizing the energy storage system in a hybrid wind and wave farm, which is based on fluid models. The description and performance of this modeling approach will be introduced and compared to standard design procedures based on extensive simulations. Advantages and limitations of each approach will be underlined and the... [more]

In this study, a Francis turbine with specific speed of 130 m-kW was designed on the basis of the port area and loss analysis. The meridional shape of the runner was designed focusing mainly on the combination of the guide vane loss analysis and experience. The runner blade inlet and outlet angles were designed by calculation of Euler’s head, while the port area of blade was modified by keeping constant angles of the blade at inlet and outlet. The results show that the effect of the port area of runner blade on the flow exit angle from runner passage is significant. A correct flow exit angle reduces the energy loss at the draft tube, thereby improving the efficiency of the turbine. The best efficiency of 92.6% is achieved by this method, which is also similar to the design conditions by the one dimension loss analysis.

Recently, the Korean government has enforced disclosure of building energy performance, so that such information can help owners and prospective buyers to make suitable investment plans. Such a building energy performance policy of the government makes it mandatory for the building owners to obtain engineering audits and thereby evaluate the energy performance levels of their buildings. However, to calculate energy performance levels (i.e., asset rating methodology), a qualified expert needs to have access to at least the full project documentation and/or conduct an on-site inspection of the buildings. Energy performance certification costs a lot of time and money. Moreover, the database of certified buildings is still actually quite small. A need, therefore, is increasing for a simplified and user-friendly energy performance prediction tool for non-specialists. Also, a database which allows building owners and users to compare best practices is required. In this regard, the current st... [more]

In this article, we describe an effective method to tether Pt and PtSn nanoparticles (NPs) on polyelectrolyte modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for ethanol electrooxidation. By using a polymer wrapping technique, positively charged polyethyleneimine (PEI) was attached onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to provide preferential linking sites for metal precursors. Well-dispersed Pt and PtSn nanocrystals (2⁻5 nm) were subsequently decorated on PEI-functionalized MWCNTs through the polyol reduction method. The successful non-covalent modification of MWCNTs was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Zeta potential measurements. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum indicates approximately 20 wt % Pt loading and a desirable Pt:Sn atomic ratio of 1:1. Electrochemical analysis demonstrated that the as-synthesized PtSn/PEI-MWCNTs nanocomposite exhibited improved catalytic activity and higher poison tolerance for ethanol oxidation as compared to Pt/PEI-MWCNTs and... [more]

Most of the energy used to operate a cellular network is consumed by a base station (BS), and reducing the transmission power of a BS can therefore afford a substantial reduction in the amount of energy used in a network. In this paper, we propose a distributed transmit power control (TPC) algorithm inspired by bird flocking behavior as a means of improving the energy efficiency of a cellular network. Just as each bird in a flock attempts to match its velocity with the average velocity of adjacent birds, in the proposed algorithm, each mobile station (MS) in a cell matches its rate with the average rate of the co-channel MSs in adjacent cells by controlling the transmit power of its serving BS. We verify that this bio-inspired TPC algorithm using a local rate-average process achieves an exponential convergence and maximizes the minimum rate of the MSs concerned. Simulation results show that the proposed TPC algorithm follows the same convergence properties as the flocking algorithm and... [more]

With the ongoing large-scale implementation of electric vehicles (EVs), the exploration of a more flexible approach to maintain fair interaction between EVs and the power grid is urgently required. This paper presents an aggregator-based interactive charging management scheme adopting interruptible load (IL) pricing, in which the EV aggregator will respond to the load control command of the grid in an EV interactive mode. Charging managements are carried out according to battery state-of-charge and the EV departure time in EV charging stations. A power-altering charging (PAC) control method is proposed to dispatch the EVs charging fairly in a station and guarantee EV owners’ preferences. The method does not require classical iterative procedures or heavy computations; furthermore, it is beneficial for EVs to depart earlier than expected for reasons beyond keeping homeostatic charging. The proposed scheme, which is tested to charge individual EVs well according to its preference, was im... [more]

An intrusive spectral method of probabilistic load flow (PLF) is proposed in the paper, which can handle the uncertainties arising from renewable energy integration. Generalized polynomial chaos (gPC) expansions of dependent random variables are utilized to build a spectral stochastic representation of PLF model. Instead of solving the coupled PLF model with a traditional, cumbersome method, a modified stochastic Galerkin (SG) method is proposed based on the P-Q decoupling properties of load flow in power system. By introducing two pre-calculated constant sparse Jacobian matrices, the computational burden of the SG method is significantly reduced. Two cases, IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 118-bus systems, are used to verify the computation speed and efficiency of the proposed method.

This article describes a rotor making technology for the production of high-efficiency single-phase induction motors (SPIMs) to be used in refrigerator compressors. Rotors can have different aluminum fill factors according to the fabrication method. In order to examine the association between the fill factor and the efficiency of the rotor, we analyzed the distribution of magnetic flux density using the finite element method (FEM). Next, we made prototype rotors by conventional casting methods and by the proposed casting method and compared their fill factors. In addition, SPIMs were made using the rotors, and their efficiencies were measured using a dynamometer. Moreover, the SPIMs were put to use in a compressor, for testing, and for each SPIM the refrigerating capacity of the compressor was measured with a calorimeter. Based on the results of the FEM analysis of the magnetic flux density and the experiments, the reliability and validity of the proposed method were proven.

The task of site selection for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) is hugely important from the perspective of harmonious and sustainable development. However, flaws and inadequacies in the currently used multi-criteria decision making methods could result in inaccurate and irrational decision results. First of all, the uncertainty of the information cannot be described integrally in the evaluation of the EVCS site selection. Secondly, rigorous consideration of the mutual influence between the various criteria is lacking, which is mainly evidenced in two aspects: one is ignoring the correlation, and the other is the unconscionable measurements. Last but not least, the ranking method adopted in previous studies is not very appropriate for evaluating the EVCS site selection problem. As a result of the above analysis, a Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method-based decision system combined with the cloud model is proposed in this paper fo... [more]

For magnetic-coupled resonator wireless power transmission (WPT) systems, higher power transfer efficiency can be achieved over a greater range in comparison to inductive-coupled WPT systems. However, as the distance between the two near-field resonators varies, the coupling between them changes. The change in coupling would in turn vary the power transfer efficiency. Generally, to maintain high efficiency for varying distances, either frequency tuning or impedance matching are employed. Frequency tuning may not limit the tunable frequency within the Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band, and the impedance matching network involves bulky systems. Therefore, to maintain higher transfer efficiency over a wide range of distances, we propose a multiple coil switching wireless power transmission system. The proposed system includes several loop coils with different sizes. Based on the variation of the distance between the transmitter and receiver side, the power is switched to one of the... [more]

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of Mach = 2.9 supersonic turbulent boundary layers with spanwise wall oscillation (SWO) are conducted to investigate the turbulent heat transport mechanism and its relation with the turbulent momentum transport. The turbulent coherent structures are suppressed by SWO and the drag is reduced. Although the velocity and temperature statistics are disturbed by SWO differently, the turbulence transports of momentum and heat are simultaneously suppressed. The Reynolds analogy and the strong Reynolds analogy are also preserved in all the controlled flows, proving the consistent mechanisms of momentum transport and heat transport in the turbulent boundary layer with SWO. Despite the extra dissipation and heat induced by SWO, a net wall heat flux reduction can be achieved with the proper selected SWO parameters. The consistent mechanism of momentum and heat transports supports the application of turbulent drag reduction technologies to wall heat flux controls... [more]

An automatic forest-stand selection method was developed that integrates the procurement of profitable energy sources within a sustainable energy production system. We tested the method using a forest harvester simulator. We found that site-specific estimates of forest characteristics are important when predicting the potential of an energy-wood stand as a renewable energy source. Further, tree parameters can be combined with automatic stem measurements from a multiple-tree harvester to predict the energy-wood biomass in the stands. The selection process uses data from profitability studies. The selection process also uses environmental criteria to ensure that sufficient soil organic matter is left behind and to protect the soil against erosion. The integrated system of the harvester automatically adapts the system’s models and stand-selection rules to account for various site-specific stand parameters. Predicting the profitable and environmentally acceptable yield of stand biomass has... [more]

To more completely extract useful features from low frequency oscillation (LFO) signals, a time-frequency analysis method using resonance-based sparse signal decomposition (RSSD) and a frequency slice wavelet transform (FSWT) is proposed. FSWT can cut time-frequency areas freely, so that any band component feature can be extracted. It can analyze multiple aspects of the LFO signal, including determination of dominant mode, mode seperation and extraction, and 3D map expression. Combined with the Hilbert transform,the parameters of the LFO mode components can be identified. Furthermore, the noise in the LFO signal could reduce the frequency resolution of FSWT analysis, which may impact the accuracy of oscillation mode identification. Complex signals can be separated by predictable Q-factors using RSSD. The RSSD method can do well in LFO signal denoising. Firstly, the LFO signal is decomposed into a high-resonance component, a low-resonance component and a residual by RSSD. The LFO signal... [more]

Hydraulic turbines exhibit total load rejection during operation because of high fluctuations in the grid parameters. The generator reaches no-load instantly. Consequently, the turbine runner accelerates to high speed, runaway speed, in seconds. Under common conditions, stable runaway is only reached if after a load rejection, the control and protection mechanisms both fail and the guide vanes cannot be closed. The runner life is affected by the high amplitude pressure loading at the runaway speed. A model Francis turbine was used to investigate the consequences at the runaway condition. Measurements and simulations were performed at three operating points. The numerical simulations were performed using standard k-ε, k-ω shear stress transport (SST) and scale-adaptive simulation (SAS) models. A total of 12.8 million hexahedral mesh elements were created in the complete turbine, from the spiral casing inlet to the draft tube outlet. The experimental and numerical analysis showed that th... [more]

In power conversion of photovoltaic (PV) energy, a hard-switching buck converter always generates some disadvantages. For example, serious electromagnetic interference (EMI), high switching losses, and stresses on an active switch (metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistor, MOSFET), and high reverse-recovery losses of a freewheeling diode result in low conversion efficiency. To release these disadvantages, a buck converter with soft-switching cells for PV panel applications is proposed. To create zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) features of the active switches, a simple active soft-switching cell with an inductor, a capacitor, and a MOSFET is incorporated into the proposed buck converter. Therefore, the switching losses and stresses of the active switches and EMI can be reduced significantly. To reduce reverse-recovery losses of a freewheeling diode, a simple passive soft-switching cell with a capacitor and two diodes is implemented. To verify the performance and the feasibility of... [more]

With soaring energy demands, the desire to explore alternate and renewable energy resources has become the focal point of various active research fronts. Therefore, the scientific community is revisiting the notion to tap wind resources in more rigorous and novel ways. In this study, a two-dimensional computational investigation of the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) with omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV) is proposed to determine the effects of this guide vane. In addition, the mesh and time step (dt) size dependency test, as well as the effect of the different turbulence models on results accuracy are investigated. Eight different shape ratios (R) of the omni-direction-guide-vane were also examined in this study. Further, the CFD model is validated by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data. Validation results show a good agreement in terms of shape and trend in CFD simulation. Based on these results, all the shape ratios, except two ratios including 0.3 and 0.4 at... [more]

Partial discharge (PD) detection is essential to the operation of high-voltage systems. In this context, we investigate the basic characteristics of light emission during PDs in SF₆ gas from the perspective of insulation diagnosis. A synchronous system is constructed using three optical photoelectric instruments with separate wavelength responses in the ultraviolet (UV, 189⁻352 nm), visible (VIS, 381⁻675 nm), and near-infrared (NIR, 737⁻920 nm) spectral ranges and a wide-band PD current pulse detector with a response of 1 pC. The results indicate that light emission depends upon the type of insulation defect and discharge energy. An increase in PD charge gives rise to more components in the spectral range from UV to VIS, and the presence of an insulator surface in discharges yields a more complex VIS-to-NIR spectrum. The phase-resolved partial discharge pattern (PRPD) of UV light pulses can reasonably reflect the electroluminescence process in the presence of the insulator surface and... [more]

This paper presents the design and implementation of a communication and control infrastructure for smart grid operation. The proposed infrastructure enhances the reliability of the measurements and control network. The advantages of utilizing the data-centric over message-centric communication approach are discussed in the context of smart grid applications. The data distribution service (DDS) is used to implement a data-centric common data bus for the smart grid. This common data bus improves the communication reliability, enabling distributed control and smart load management. These enhancements are achieved by avoiding a single point of failure while enabling peer-to-peer communication and an automatic discovery feature for dynamic participating nodes. The infrastructure and ideas presented in this paper were implemented and tested on the smart grid testbed. A toolbox and application programing interface for the testbed infrastructure are developed in order to facilitate interopera... [more]

Partial shading is an unavoidable condition which significantly reduces the efficiency and stability of a photovoltaic (PV) system. When partial shading occurs the system has multiple-peak output power characteristics. In order to track the global maximum power point (GMPP) within an appropriate period a reliable technique is required. Conventional techniques such as hill climbing and perturbation and observation (P&O) are inadequate in tracking the GMPP subject to this condition resulting in a dramatic reduction in the efficiency of the PV system. Recent artificial intelligence methods have been proposed, however they have a higher computational cost, slower processing time and increased oscillations which results in further instability at the output of the PV system. This paper proposes a fast and efficient technique based on Radial Movement Optimization (RMO) for detecting the GMPP under partial shading conditions. The paper begins with a brief description of the behavior of PV... [more]