Particle swarm optimised fuzzy controller for charging–discharging and scheduling of battery energy storage system in MG applications

© 2020 The Authors Aiming at reducing the power consumption and costs of grids, this paper deals with the development of particle swarm optimisation (PSO) based fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for charging–discharging and scheduling of the battery energy storage systems (ESSs) in microgrid (MG) applications. Initially, FLC was developed to control the charging–discharging of the storage system to avoid mathematical calculation of the conventional system. However, to improve the charging–discharging control, the membership function of the FLC is optimised using PSO technique considering the available power, load demand, battery temperature and state of charge (SOC). The scheduling controller is the optimal solution to achieve low-cost uninterrupted reliable power according to the loads. To reduce the grid power demand and consumption costs, an optimal binary PSO is also introduced to schedule the ESS, grid and distributed sources under various load conditions at different times of the day. The obtained results proved that the robustness of the developed PSO based fuzzy control can effectively manage the battery charging–discharging with reducing the significant grid power consumption of 42.26% and the costs of the energy usage by 45.11% which also demonstrates the contribution of the research

Real time battery voltage level monitoring system for telecommunication towers a case study: Habari Node public limited company Arusha, Tanzania

A Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Embedded and Mobile System of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyVoltage fluctuations in batteries during consumption are amongst the challenges facing telecommunication towers. Due to these fluctuations, many injuries that cause deaths and environmental poisoning have been reported. These fluctuations and injuries mainly occur due to poor management and lack of battery voltage-level monitoring systems after installation. This paper proposes a battery voltage-level monitoring system to be used in telecommunication towers. The proposed solution is incorporated with a centralized mobile application dashboard that allows access to the live data of the installed battery due to integration with components for sensing the battery’s voltage, current, and temperature levels, as well as fire, and gas contents. An Arduino Uno microcontroller board was used in the processing and analysis of the data collected from the sensors. The global service message module (GSM) internet connectivity was used to store and monitor data in the cloud. The user was then alerted about low voltage, detected fire, and increased levels of harmful gases in the tower through a short message service (SMS). The experiment was conducted at Ngorongoro and Manyara telecommunication towers and it revealed that the developed battery voltage-level monitoring system could access battery information remotely while allowing users to continually monitor the battery usage in telecommunication towers in real time. The unique value of this study is the proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system that contributes to the elimination of battery hazards in telecommunication towers. The proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system can be adopted by telecommunication towers engineers to reduce voltage fluctuation risks like injuries, environmental degradation, and deaths

Battery charging system incorporating an equalisation circuit for electric vehicles

Ph.D. ThesisHybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining in popularity mainly due to the fact that unlike combustion-powered vehicles, they do not pollute with greenhouse gases and toxic particles. Most HEVs and EVs are powered by lithium-ion battery packs which have high power density and longer cycle lives compared to other battery types. Each pack is made out of many battery cells in series connected and due to manufacturing tolerances and chemical processes in individual cells each cell has its own electric characteristics. In order to achieve a balanced voltage across all cells, a battery management system (BMS) must be employed to actively monitor and balance the cells voltage. On-board battery chargers are installed in HEVs/EVs to charge the lithium-ion battery pack from the grid. This charger converts AC grid voltage into a controllable DC output voltage, but it adds weight to the vehicle, reducing the overall efficiency of an HEV/EV and also increasing its cost. The aim of researches in multi-functional power electronics is to design systems which perform several different functions at the same time. These systems promise cost and weight reductions since only one circuit is used to conduct different functions. An example is the electric drive in an HEV/EV. On one hand, it propels the car forward when driving, while on the other hand the battery can be charged via a modified electric motor and inverter topology. Thus, no additional on-board charger is required. This thesis describes a new multi-functional circuit for HEVs/EVs which combines the functions of voltage equalisation with grid charging. Compared to a drive system, the proposed circuit does not rely on an electric motor to charge the battery. Various battery chargers and equalisation circuits are first compared. Then, the design of the proposed circuit is described and simulation results are presented for charging and voltage balancing. An experimental test rig was built and practical results have been captured and compared with simulation results for validation. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed circuit are discussed at the end of the thesis. Keywords- Multi-functional system, Battery charging, Voltage equalisation, Lithium-ion batter