Lumped Parameter Thermal Network Modelling for Thermal Characterization and Protection of Traction Motors in Electric Vehicle Application

This thesis investigates thermal modelling of traction motors for thermal characterization and protection in electric vehicle application. The requirements for traction motor characteristics include high power density; high torque at low speed for starting and climbing; high power at high speed for cruising; wide speed range; a fast torque response; high efficiency over wide torque and speed ranges and high reliability. High torque and power density requirements in traction motors mean increasing current and consequently, higher temperature rise in the motor. When the temperature of the winding and magnet in traction motors exceed permissible thermal limit frequently due to lack of proper understanding and managing of the thermal conditions it will have a short-term and a long term impacts on the motor operation. In the short-term, it will never be able to produce required torque and power for standard driving conditions of electric vehicle. In the long-term, it will have the detrimental effects on the life of insulation material and consequently, it will cause permanent insulation breakdown and on the other hand, demagnetization due to higher temperature will cause a permanent damage to the motor. Hence, it is extremely important to predict temperature rise in the motor accurately and regulate liquid cooling accordingly so that the motor does not fail to produce required torque and power for any driving conditions. This research work proposes a higher order lumped parameter thermal network (LPTN) model to determine a comprehensive thermal characterization of the traction motors. Such characterization predicts the temperature of the winding, magnet and other parts of the motor. The proposed model is capable of taking inputs dynamically of motor operating parameters in electric vehicle and generate a motor loss model that feeds loss results into LPTN thermal model to predict motor temperature. The proposed model investigates cooling requirements to the motor so that the motor continues to produce the rated torque and power. The LPTN model results are validated through thermal tests on a copper rotor induction motor (CRIM) and an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) in the laborator

Modeling and Analysis of Cal Poly Microgrid

Microgrids—miniature versions of the electrical grid are becoming increasingly more popular as advancements in technologies, renewable energy mandates, and decreased costs drive communities to adopt them. The modern microgrid has capabilities of generating, distributing, and regulating the flow of electricity, capable of operating in both grid-connected and islanded (disconnected) conditions. This paper utilizes ETAP software in the analysis, simulation, and development of the Cal Poly microgrid. Additionally, an ETAP power system protection tutorial is created to aid students entering the power industry. Microprocessor-based relays are heavily utilized in both the ETAP model and hardware implementation of the system. Case studies in this project investigate electric power system load flow, short circuit, protection coordination, and transient stability analysis of the Cal Poly microgrid

Evolution and Modern Approaches for Thermal Analysis of Electrical Machines

In this paper, the authors present an extended survey on the evolution and the modern approaches in the thermal analysis of electrical machines. The improvements and the new techniques proposed in the last decade are analyzed in depth and compared in order to highlight the qualities and defects of each. In particular, thermal analysis based on lumped-parameter thermal network, finite-element analysis, and computational fluid dynamics are considered in this paper. In addition, an overview of the problems linked to the thermal parameter determination and computation is proposed and discussed. Taking into account the aims of this paper, a detailed list of books and papers is reported in the references to help researchers interested in these topics

Sähköjärjestelmän häiriöt ydinvoimalaitoksissa ja niiden simulointivaatimukset

Electrical systems perform various functions in a nuclear power plant (NPP), and they are required for the operation of many safety systems. In normal operation, all electrical systems are connected together at the high voltage level, which creates the potential for common cause failures due to faults in the plant internal or external power system. In fact, several such incidents have been reported. This thesis reviews literature related to NPP electrical system reliability and electrical disturbances. Three particularly relevant conditions (power frequency overvoltages, open phase conditions and subsynchronous oscillations) are selected for in-depth analysis. Based on the literature review and analyses, this thesis makes recommendations about simulating these conditions in COSI. COSI is a research project which aims to develop a co-simulation platform for simulating the electrical system and NPP process systems together. This thesis notes that existing electrical simulation studies have not considered process system feedback effects and other transient dynamics in much detail, and that COSI could provide insight into their effects on nuclear safety.Sähköjärjestelmät ovat tärkeitä lukuisille ydinvoimalaitoksen toiminnoille. Muun muassa monien turvallisuusjärjestelmien toiminta riippuu sähköjärjestelmistä. Normaalissa käyttötilanteessa kaikki sähköjärjestelmät kytkeytyvät yhteen suurjännitetasolla, mistä aiheutuu mahdollinen yhteisvikariski, jos laitoksen sisäisessä tai ulkoisessa sähköverkossa tapahtuu vika. Useita tämänkaltaisia tapahtumia onkin raportoitu. Tässä diplomityössä tehdään katsaus kirjallisuuteen, joka liittyy ydinvoimalaitosten sähköjärjestelmien luotettavuuteen ja sähköjärjestelmän häiriöihin. Kolme erityisen oleellista häiriötyyppiä (verkkotaajuiset ylijännitteet, vaihekatkokset ja alisynkroniset värähtelyt) valitaan lähempään tarkasteluun. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen ja tarkastelujen perusteella annetaan suosituksia näiden häiriöiden simuloimiseen COSI-projektissa. COSI on tutkimusprojekti, jossa kehitetään kosimulaatioalusta sähköjärjestelmän ja ydinvoimalaitoksen prosessijärjestelmien yhteissimulointiin. Työn mukaan aiemmissa sähköjärjestelmien simulointitutkimuksissa ei ole tarkasti selvitetty prosessijärjestelmistä aiheutuvia takaisinkytkentöjä tai muita transienttivaikutuksia. COSI voisi parantaa ymmärrystä näiden vaikutuksista ydinturvallisuuteen

Stability studies of Sasol Synfuels Transmission and Distribution network under fault conditions and N-1 supply contingency

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-130).The aim of the work is to perform a transient stability analysis of the Sasol Synfuels Transmission and Distribution network when the power system is subjected to fault conditions and N-1 supply contingency conditions. The work provides an overview of the problem of power system stability as well as discussing issues related to the problem of power system stability; which include power system control and power system modelling

Multi-phase Starter-Generator for 48 V Mild-Hybrid Powertrains

Transportation electrification has experienced a significant growth in recent years, and the electrification of the powertrain – namely hybridization – is considered the most viable solution seen by car manufacturers to achieve the challenging emission targets. Among the hybrid electrical powertrain topologies, the mild-hybrid configuration with the 48 V battery system offers the best ratio cost versus CO2 improvements. In particular, the 48 V technology does not require electrical shock protection whilst allows to leverage a variety of fuel saving functions such as electrical boost and regenerative braking. The thesis is focused on the electromagnetic and thermal design of a Belt-driven Starter Generator, BSG, for 48 V mild-hybrid powertrains. In the BSG layout, the starter-generator replaces the conventional alternator with a low impact on the engine compartment layout, even if a redesign of the belt tensioner is required. It is noteworthy to keep in mind that the electrical machine shall provide high starting torque and wide constant power speed range, both in motor and generator mode. Furthermore, the application imposes the adoption of low cost materials and the electrical machine is located in a harsh environment. As a consequence, the design is challenging from the electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical point of view. The novelties of the research lie in the 48 V automotive applications, by describing the practical difficulties to fulfill the design specifications through a suitable material selection, the identification of the cooling system and the available technological solutions. The first section of the thesis reports results from a literature review on electrical machine for mild-hybrid application aiming to highlight different criteria for the selection of the electrical machine. In this context the advantages in terms of fault tolerance and stator current splitting of multiphase drives are investigated. Furthermore, in this section the required performances and the constraints imposed by the specific application are analyzed. Among the different motor technologies, a dual three-phase induction machine having two stator winding sets shifted by 60 electrical degrees is selected as a suitable candidate. The second part of the thesis reports electromagnetic and mechanical issues addressed during the design stage, with special focus on stator winding layout, pole number and rotor slot. The adopted six-phase machine uses a four-layer bar stator winding that has been demonstrated as a good solution to improve the slot fill factor and thermal behavior. In addition, the thesis reports a comparison supported by experimental tests between open and closed rotor slots solutions; the focus is to maximize the machine electromagnetic performance according to the mechanical limits imposed by the rotating speed. Finally, predicted and measured performance of the prototypes are reported and discussed for validation purposes. The third part of the thesis deals with the thermal assessment of the BSG with particular emphasis on accurate winding temperature prediction as well as the cooling system selection. Since the stator-winding region is very sensitive to thermal issues and is usually attributed as being the main heat source within the machine body, its thermal modeling is of major importance. In these regards, a simplified stator winding thermal model was developed for the temperature prediction during transient condition. Moreover, considering that the driving cycle is characterized by time variable loss distribution, an effective cooling system must be mandatorily adopted together with high temperature class insulation material. In this context, the development of heat extraction through forced convection is experimentally investigated on the BSG prototype. As a main outcome of this research activity, it has been demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed design solution with respect to electromagnetic and thermal requirements

Application of double fed induction generator wind systems to weak networks

Application of double fed induction generator (DFIG) wind generators to weak networks hasbeen limited, particularly when these networks have large industrial loads which exhibittransient conditions on a regular basis. This research thesis examines the application ofDFIG wind generators to weak networks and establishes the requirements for suchintegration

Coordination of Generator Protection and Control in the Over and Under Excited Regions

This thesis deals with the coordination of protection and control functions associated with the synchronous generators. The excitation control functions are a key component in maintaining the stability of machines and the network. The overall objective of coordination is simple; to allow excitation control functions, the automatic recovery from excursions beyond normal limits, and only take protective action as a last resort. This thesis focuses on four areas of generator control and protection : a) Loss of excitation protection, b) Dynamic underexcitation coordination, c) Dynamic Overexcitation coordination, and d) a generic protective relay development platform for hardware and software development. Loss of excitation (LOE) is a condition in the underexcited region that presents a risk of severe damage to a generator. The state of the art in the detection of a loss of excitation condition is based on the principle that, for a zero Thevenin voltage, the generator becomes a reactance as seen from the power system. The difficulty in detecting a loss of excitation is that several other disturbances may temporarily present a similar behavior, for instance a fault followed by a power swing. In this part of the work, a new algorithm for the detection of a loss of excitation condition is proposed by using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification method and a careful design of the necessary feature vectors. The proposed method is robust to changes in conditions including initial load, fault types, line impedance, as well as generator parameter inaccuracies. Coordination in the underexcited region presents difficulties due to the commonly used static characteristics instead of dynamic simulation. The underexcited limit presents an overload characteristic that is not normally known or used. Once the limit is exceeded, the limiting control action is a control loop that presents a dynamic behavior not typically represented in studies in the current industry practice. It is also important to properly model and include dynamic performance of protection functions. An important consideration not typically taken into account is the actual stability limit, which depends on the characteristics and the mode of excitation control used. This thesis includes all the above considerations necessary to achieve the required coordination using the more accurate dynamic simulations. Specific scenarios that present risk to the machine or the system are included to assess the coordination achieved. A real generator from the Alberta power system is used as a case study to demonstrate the proposed coordination methodology. Coordination in the overexcited region again presents practical difficulties due to static characteristics instead of dynamic simulation of conditions that exercise the overexcitation limits. The problems observed relate to coordination methodology and modeling methods for both protection and control limits. Once the limit boundary characteristic is exceeded, the limiting action is a control loop that presents dynamic behavior that needs to be represented. Similar considerations need to be made with the protection function protecting against rotor overload. Current modeling methods mostly use low bandwidth simulations, i.e., transient stability studies. A modeling methodology as well as specific model improvements to the IEEE ST1A excitation control model are proposed to achieve the required coordination. The ST1A type is one model that can represent a wide variety of system models from different manufacturers. The proposed modeling methodology applies to high bandwidth simulations such as electromagnetic simulations. Specific important scenarios, such as severe temporary reactive overload or severe power swing conditions, where the protection and control are required to coordinate but that present risk to the machine or the system are proposed as part of the coordination considerations. The detection of LOE conditions by the proposed SVM method and by traditional methods was implemented in hardware by using a digital signal processor (DSP) platform and tested using real time power system simulations. A new platform for real time protective relay development was designed and used for the purpose of implementation. In the proposed platform, a processor independent code is used so that development can be performed using native host computer development tools. By using the proposed platform-independent code, off line testing can be performed either interactively or in batch mode for evaluating multiple cases