33 research outputs found
Improved Battery State Estimation Using Novel Sensing Techniques.
Lithium-ion batteries have been considered a great complement or substitute for gasoline engines due to their high energy and power density capabilities among other advantages. However, these types of energy storage devices are still yet not widespread, mainly because of their relatively high cost and safety issues, especially at elevated temperatures.
This thesis extends existing methods of estimating critical battery states using model-based techniques augmented by real-time measurements from novel temperature and force sensors. Typically, temperature sensors are located near the edge of the battery, and away from the hottest core cell regions, which leads to slower response times and increased errors in the prediction of core temperatures. New sensor technology allows for flexible sensor placement at the cell surface between cells in a pack. This raises questions about the optimal locations of these sensors for best observability and temperature estimation. Using a validated model, which is developed and verified using experiments in laboratory fixtures that replicate vehicle pack conditions, it is shown that optimal sensor placement can lead to better and faster temperature estimation.
Another equally important state is the state of health or the capacity fading of the cell. This thesis introduces a novel method of using force measurements for capacity fade estimation. Monitoring capacity is important for defining the range of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Current capacity estimation techniques require a full discharge to monitor capacity. The proposed method can complement or replace current methods because it only requires a shallow discharge, which is especially useful in EVs and PHEVs.
Using the accurate state estimation accomplished earlier, a method for downsizing a battery pack is shown to effectively reduce the number of cells in a pack without compromising safety. The influence on the battery performance (e.g. temperature, utilization, capacity fade, and cost) while downsizing and shifting the nominal operating SOC is demonstrated via simulations.
The contributions in this thesis aim to make EVs, HEVs and PHEVs less costly while maintaining safety and reliability as more people are transitioning towards more environmentally friendly means of transportation.PhDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120815/1/nassimab_1.pd
Integrated design optimization methods for optimal sensor placement and cooling system architecture design for electro-thermal systems
Dynamic thermal management plays a very important role in the design and development of electro-thermal systems as these become more active and complex in terms of their functionalities. In highly power dense electronic systems, the heat is concentrated over small spatial domains. Thermal energy dissipation in any electrified system increases the temperature and might cause component failure, degradation of heat sensitive materials, thermal burnouts and failure of active devices. So thermal management needs to be done both accurately (by thermal monitoring using sensors) and efficiently (by applying fluid-based cooling techniques). In this work, two important aspects of dynamic thermal management of a highly dense power electronic system have been investigated.
The first aspect is the problem of optimal temperature sensor placement for accurate thermal monitoring aimed toward achieving thermally-aware electrified systems. Strategic placement of temperature sensors can improve the accuracy of real-time temperature distribution estimates. Enhanced temperature estimation supports increased power throughput and density because Power Electronic Systems (PESs) can be operated in a less conservative manner while still preventing thermal failure. This work presents new methods for temperature sensor placement for 2- and 3-dimensional PESs that 1) improve computational efficiency (by orders of magnitude in at least one case), 2) support use of more accurate evaluation metrics, and 3) are scalable to high-dimension sensor placement problems. These new methods are tested via sensor placement studies based on a 2-kW, 60Hz, single-phase, Flying Capacitor Multi-Level (FCML) prototype inverter. Information-based metrics are derived from a reduced-order Resistance-Capacitance (RC) lumped parameter thermal model. Other more general metrics and system models are possible through application of a new continuous relaxation strategy introduced here for placement representation. A new linear Programming (LP) formulation is presented that is compatible with a particular type of information-based metric. This LP strategy is demonstrated to support the efficient solution of finely-discretized large-scale placement problems. The optimal sensor locations obtained from these methods were tested via physical experiments. The new methods and results presented here may aid the development of thermally-aware PESs with significantly enhanced capabilities.
The second aspect is to design optimal fluid-based thermal management architectures through enumerative methods that help operate the system efficiently within its operating temperature limits using the minimum feasible coolant flow level. Expert intuition based on physics knowledge and vast experience may not be adequate to identify optimal thermal management designs as systems increase in size and complexity. This work also presents a design framework supporting comprehensive exploration of a class of single-phase fluid-based cooling architectures. The candidate cooling system architectures are represented using labeled rooted tree graphs. Dynamic models are automatically generated from these trees using a graph-based thermal modeling framework. Optimal performance is determined by solving an appropriate fluid flow distribution problem, handling temperature constraints in the presence of exogenous heat loads. Rigorous case studies are performed in simulation, with components having variable sets of heat loads and temperature constraints. Results include optimization of thermal endurance for an enumerated set of 4,051 architectures. In addition, cooling system architectures capable of steady-state operation under a given loading are identified. Optimization of the cooling system design has been done subject to a representative mission, consisting of multiple time-varying loads. Work presented in this thesis clearly shows that the transient effects of heat loads are expected to have important impacts on design decisions when compared to steady-state operating conditions
A review on various optical fibre sensing methods for batteries
Batteries have rapidly evolved and are widely applied in both stationary and transport applications. The safe and reliable operation is of vital importance to all types of batteries, herein an effective battery sensing system with high performance and easy implementation is critically needed. This also requires the sensing system to monitor the states of batteries in real time. Among the available methods, optical fibre sensors have shown a significant advantage due to their advanced capabilities of which include the fast measurement of multiple parameters with high sensitivity, working without interfering the battery performance, being able to be composited in multiplexed configurations and being robust to various harsh environment conditions. This paper mainly discusses the current optical fibre sensing methods for batteries in terms of the working principles and critical reviews the sensing performance corresponding to different sensing parameters. Moreover, the challenges and outlooks for future research on battery sensing are derived
Dynamic temperature estimation of power electronics systems
This thesis proposes a method for accurate temperature estimation of thermally-aware power electronics systems. The duality between electrical systems and thermal systems was considered for thermal modeling. High dimensional thermal models present a challenge for online estimation. RC (resistor-capacitor) circuits that create a tradeoff between accuracy and complexity were used to simulate the dynamic thermal behavior of power electronics. The complexity of the thermal network was further reduced by applying a structure-preserving model order reduction technique. The reduced order thermal model was an RC circuit with fewer capacitors. Preserving the physical correspondence between the reduced order model and the physical system allows the user to use the reduced order thermal model in the sensor placement optimization process. The accuracy of the thermal estimates can be easily increased by increasing the number of sensors in the system. However, a large number of sensors increases the cost and complexity of the system. It might also interfere with the circuit design and create packaging problems. An optimal number and optimal placement of temperature sensors was found. The optimal sensor placement problem was solved by maximizing the trace of observability Gramian. The optimal number of temperature sensors was based on the state estimation error obtained from a Kalman filter. The dynamic thermal behavior of the power electronics systems was represented by a linear state space model by applying the conservation of energy principle. Therefore, assuming Gaussian noise, it is well-known that a Kalman filter is an optimal estimator for such systems. A continuous-discrete Kalman filter was used to estimate the dynamic thermal behavior of power electronics systems using an optimal number of temperature sensors placed at optimal locations. The proposed method was applied on 2-D and 3-D power electronics systems. Theoretical results were validated experimentally using IR thermal imaging and thermocouples. It was shown that the proposed method can accurately reconstruct the dynamic temperature profile of power electronics systems using a small number of temperature sensors
Future Smart Grid Systems
This book focuses on the analysis, design and implementation of future smart grid systems. This book contains eleven chapters, which were originally published after rigorous peer-review as a Special Issue in the International Journal of Energies (Basel). The chapters cover a range of work from authors across the globe and present both the state-of-the-art and emerging paradigms across a range of topics including sustainability planning, regulations and policy, estimation and situational awareness, energy forecasting, control and optimization and decentralisation. This book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and scholars working in areas related to future smart grid systems
Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) system design study
The Reusable Reentry Satellite (RRS) is intended to provide investigators in several biological disciplines with a relatively inexpensive method to access space for up to 60 days with eventual recovery on Earth. The RRS will permit totally intact, relatively soft, recovery of the vehicle, system refurbishment, and reflight with new and varied payloads. The RRS is to be capable of three reflights per year over a 10-year program lifetime. The RRS vehicle will have a large and readily accessible volume near the vehicle center of gravity for the Payload Module (PM) containing the experiment hardware. The vehicle is configured to permit the experimenter late access to the PM prior to launch and rapid access following recovery. The RRS will operate in one of two modes: (1) as a free-flying spacecraft in orbit, and will be allowed to drift in attitude to provide an acceleration environment of less than 10(exp -5) g. the acceleration environment during orbital trim maneuvers will be less than 10(exp -3) g; and (2) as an artificial gravity system which spins at controlled rates to provide an artificial gravity of up to 1.5 Earth g. The RRS system will be designed to be rugged, easily maintained, and economically refurbishable for the next flight. Some systems may be designed to be replaced rather than refurbished, if cost effective and capable of meeting the specified turnaround time. The minimum time between recovery and reflight will be approximately 60 days. The PMs will be designed to be relatively autonomous, with experiments that require few commands and limited telemetry. Mass data storage will be accommodated in the PM. The hardware development and implementation phase is currently expected to start in 1991 with a first launch in late 1993
Performance indicators for the dynamics modeling and control of PEMFC systems
Society is gradually becoming aware that the current energy industry, based on the
use of fossil fuels, is inefficient, highly polluting and has a finite supply. Within the
scientific community, there are indications that hydrogen (H2) as an energy vector,
obtained from renewable energy sources, can represent a viable option to mitigate
the problems associated with hydrocarbon combustion. In this context, the change
from the current energy industry to a new structure with a significant involvement of
H2 facilitates the introduction of fuel cells as elements of energy conversion. Polymer
Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are gaining increased attention as viable
energy conversion devices for a wide range of applications from automotive,
stationary to portable. In order to optimize performance, these systems require active
control and thus in-depth knowledge of the system dynamics which include fluid
mechanics, thermal dynamics and reaction kinetics. One of the main issues, with
respect to proper control of these systems, is the understanding of the water
transport mechanisms through the membrane and the liquid water distribution. The
thesis is based on the publication of nine international journal articles that are divided
into 4 sub-topics: Dynamic fuel cell modeling, fuel cell system control-oriented
analysis, identification of parameters and performance indicators and finally, fault
and failure detection and system diagnosis. In the sub-topic of Dynamic Fuel cell
modeling, experimentally validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is
used to relate the effects of the physical phenomena associated with fluid mechanics
and thermal dynamics, that occur inside the fuel cell [Alonso, 2009][Strahl, 2011], to
water distribution. However, since these CFD models cannot be directly used for
control, control-oriented models [Kunusch, 2008][Kunusch, 2011] have been
developed in parallel. As well, another study is done in [Serra, 2006] which includes
a controllability analysis of the system for future development and application of
efficient controllers. The results of the above mentioned studies are limited because
either they do not incorporate an electrochemical model or the model is not experimentally validated. Moreover, these models do not take into account the
voltage losses due to liquid water inside the fuel cell. Therefore, there is a need to
properly relate the relevant effects of fluid mechanics and thermal dynamics,
including liquid water, to the fuel cell voltage. Primarily, methodologies are needed to
determine the relevant indicators associated to the effect of water on the fuel cell
performance. The works published in [Husar, 2008] and [Husar, 2011] treats
experimental parameter identification, mainly focused on water transport through the
membrane and fuel cell voltage loss indicators respectively. The implementation of
the indicators indirect measurement methodology provides an experimental way for
the isolation of three main types of voltage losses in the fuel cell: activation, mass
transport and ohmic losses. Additionally since these voltage loss indicators relate the
fuel cell operating conditions to the fuel cell voltage, they can be utilized to calibrate
and validate CFD models as well as employed in novel control strategies. On the
other hand, to develop reliable systems, the controller should not only take into
account performance variables during standard operation but should also be able to
detect failures and take the appropriate actions. A preliminary study on failure
indicators is presented in [Husar 2007] and fault detection methodologies are
described in [de Lira 2011]. As a whole, the compilation of articles represented in this
thesis applies a comprehensive experimental approach which describes the
implementation of novel methodologies and experimental procedures to characterize
and model the PEMFC and their associated systems taking into consideration
control oriented goals.La societat s'està adonant que la indústria energètica actual, basada en l'ús de
combustibles fòssils, és ineficient, molt contaminant i té un subministrament limitat.
Dins de la comunitat científica, hi ha indicis que el hidrogen (H2) com vector
energètic, obtingut a partir de fonts d'energia renovables, pot representar una opció
viable per a mitigar els problemes associats amb la combustió d'hidrocarburs. En
aquest context, el canvi de la indústria energètica actual a una nova estructura amb
una important participació de el hidrogen exigeix la introducció de les piles de
combustible com elements de conversió d'energia. Les piles de combustible de
membrana polimèrica (PEMFC) estan tenint cada vegada més atenció com a
dispositius viables de conversió d'energia per a una àmplia gamma d'aplicacions
com automoció, estacionàries o portàtils. Amb la finalitat d'optimitzar el seu
rendiment, les piles PEM requereixen un control actiu i per tant un coneixement
profund de la dinàmica del sistema, que inclou la mecànica de fluids, la dinàmica
tèrmica i la cinètica de les reaccions. Un dels temes principals relacionat amb el
control adequat d'aquests sistemes és la comprensió dels mecanismes de transport
d'aigua a través de la membrana i la distribució d'aigua líquida. Aquesta tesi es basa
en nou articles publicats en revistes internacionals que es divideixen en 4 subtemes:
la modelització dinàmica de piles de combustible, l'anàlisi orientada al control
del sistema, la identificació de paràmetres i d’indicadors de funcionament i,
finalment, la detecció de fallades i la diagnosi dels sistemes. En el sub-tema de la
modelització dinàmica de piles PEM, la modelització basada en la Dinàmica de
Fluids Computacional (CFD) amb validació experimental s'ha utilitzat per a
relacionar els efectes dels fenòmens físics de la mecànica de fluids i de la dinàmica
tèrmica que es produeixen dintre de la pila [Alonso, 2009] [ Strahl, 2011] amb la
distribució d'aigua. No obstant això, com aquests models CFD no poden ser utilitzats
directament per al control, s'han desenvolupat models orientats a control [Kunusch,
2008] [Kunusch, 2011] en paral·lel. A més, en un altre estudi [Serra, 2006] s'inclou una anàlisi de control·labilitat del sistema per al desenvolupament i aplicació futurs
de controladors eficaços. Però els resultats dels estudis esmentats anteriorment són
limitats, ja sigui perquè no incorporen un model electroquímic o bé perquè no han
estat validats experimentalment. A més, cap dels models té en compte les pèrdues
de tensió degudes a l'aigua líquida dins de la pila de combustible. Per tant, hi ha una
necessitat de relacionar adequadament els efectes rellevants de la mecànica de
fluids i de la dinàmica tèrmica, incloent l'aigua líquida, amb el voltatge de la pila de
combustible. Principalment, són necessàries metodologies per a determinar els
indicadors rellevants associats a aquest efecte de l'aigua sobre el rendiment de la
pila de combustible. Els treballs publicats en [Husar, 2008] i [Husar, 2011] tracten la
identificació experimental de paràmetres, centrada en el transport d'aigua a través
de la membrana i els indicadors de pèrdua de tensió, respectivament. L'aplicació
d'una proposta de metodologia de mesura indirecte dels indicadors permet
l'aïllament dels tres tipus principals de pèrdues de voltatge en la pila de combustible:
l'activació, el transport de massa i les pèrdues ohmiques. Aquests indicadors de
pèrdua de tensió relacionen les condicions d'operació amb el voltatge de la pila de
combustible i per tant poden ser utilitzats per a calibrar i validar models CFD, així
com per a definir noves estratègies de control. D'altra banda, per a aconseguir
sistemes fiables, el controlador no només ha de considerar els indicadors de
funcionament de l'operació normal, sinó que també ha de detectar possibles fallades
per a poder prendre les accions adequades en cas de fallada. Un estudi preliminar
sobre indicadors de fallades es presenta en [Husar 2007] i una metodologia de
detecció de fallades completa es descriu en [Lira de 2011]. En el seu conjunt, el
compendi d'articles que formen aquesta tesi segueix un enfocament experimental i
descriu la implementació de noves metodologies i procediments experimentals per a
la caracterització i el modelatge de piles PEM i els sistemes associats amb objectius
orientats al control eficient d'aquests sistemes.La sociedad se ésta dando cuenta de que la industria energética actual, basada en
el uso de combustibles fósiles, es ineficiente, muy contaminante y tiene un
suministro limitado. Dentro de la comunidad científica, hay indicios de que el
hidrógeno (H2) como vector energético, obtenido a partir de fuentes de energía
renovables, puede representar una opción viable para mitigar los problemas
asociados con la combustión de hidrocarburos. En este contexto, el cambio de la
industria energética actual a una nueva estructura con una importante participación
de H2 exige la introducción de pilas de combustible como elementos de conversión
de energía. Las pilas de combustible de membrana polimérica (PEMFC) están
ganando cada vez más atención como dispositivos viables de conversión de energía
para una amplia gama de aplicaciones como automoción, estacionarias o portátiles.
Con el fin de optimizar su rendimiento, las pilas PEM requieren un control activo y
por lo tanto un conocimiento profundo de la dinámica del sistema, que incluye la
mecánica de fluidos, la dinámica térmica y la cinética de las reacciones. Uno de los
temas principales relacionado con el control adecuado de estos sistemas, es la
comprensión de los mecanismos de transporte de agua a través de la membrana y
la distribución de agua líquida. Esta tesis se basa en la publicación de nueve
artículos en revistas internacionales que se dividen en 4 sub-temas: el modelado
dinámico de pilas de combustible, el análisis orientado a control del sistema, la
identificación de parámetros e indicadores de desempeño y, por último, la detección
de fallos y la diagnosis. En el sub-tema de la modelización dinámica de pilas PEM,
el modelado basado en Dinámica de Fluidos Computacional (CFD) con validación
experimental se ha utilizado para relacionar los efectos de los fenómenos físicos de
la mecánica de fluidos y la dinámica térmica que se producen dentro de la pila
[Alonso, 2009] [ Strahl, 2011] con la distribución de agua. Sin embargo, como estos modelos CFD no pueden ser utilizados directamente para el control, modelos
orientados a control [Kunusch, 2008] [Kunusch, 2011] se han desarrollado en
paralelo. Además, en otro estudio [Serra, 2006] se incluye un análisis de
controlabilidad del sistema para el futuro desarrollo y aplicación de controladores
eficaces. Pero los resultados de los estudios mencionados anteriormente son
limitados, ya sea porque no incorporan un modelo electroquímico o bien porque no
son validados experimentalmente. Además, ninguno de los modelos tiene en cuenta
las pérdidas de tensión debidas al agua líquida dentro de la pila de combustible. Por
lo tanto, hay una necesidad de relacionar adecuadamente los efectos relevantes de
la mecánica de fluidos y la dinámica térmica, incluyendo el agua líquida, con la
tensión de la pila de combustible. Principalmente, son necesarias metodologías para
determinar los indicadores relevantes asociados al efecto del agua sobre el
rendimiento de la pila de combustible. Los trabajos publicados en [Husar, 2008] y
[Husar, 2011] tratan la identificación experimental de parámetros, centrada en el
transporte de agua a través de la membrana y los indicadores de pérdida de tensió,
respectivamente. La aplicación de una metodología propuesta de medición indirecta
de los indicadores permite el aislamiento de los tres tipos principales de pérdidas de
tensión en la pila de combustible: la activación, el transporte de masa y las pérdidas
óhmicas. Éstos indicadores de pérdida de tensión relacionan las condiciones de
operación con la tensión de la pila de combustible y por lo tanto pueden ser
utilizados para calibrar y validar modelos CFD, así como para definir nuevas
estrategias de control. Por otro lado, para conseguir sistemas fiables, el controlador
no sólo debe considerar los indicadores de desempeño de la operación regular, sino
que también debe detectar posibles fallos para poder tomar las acciones adecuadas
en caso de fallo. Un estudio preliminar sobre indicadores de fallos se presenta en
[Husar 2007] y una metodología de detección de fallos completa se describe en [Lira
de 2011]. En su conjunto, el compendio de artículos que forman esta tesis sigue un
enfoque experimental y describe la implementación de nuevas metodologías y
procedimientos experimentales para la caracterización y el modelado de pilas PEM
y los sistemas asociados con objetivos orientados al control eficiente de estos
sistemas
Fibre optic sensing for measuring rotor blade structural dynamics.
Researchers and practitioners spend much e ort in developing theoretical methods to
design and predict the performance of helicopter rotor blades. These blades have evolved
to become complex structures designed to operate in extreme conditions and over the exceptionally broad flight envelopes of helicopters. As a result, these vehicles are subject to
strict maintenance regimes that increase the overall operational costs. The need to reduce
such costs and improve aircraft performance together with the emergence of novel fibre
optic-based sensor technologies form the context of the research presented in this thesis.
Opportunities for blade health and usage monitoring created by sensor technologies such
as fibre Bragg gratings (FBG) for measuring strain and direct fibre optic shape sensing
(DFOSS) present today's industry with a critical question: Does the designer follow contemporary technological trends and adopt a preventative approach where he/she invests
in such instrumentation systems or is a reactive approach more appropriate where he/she
awaits to have sufficient evidence of operational need? A survey was carried out as part
of this research to understand this dichotomy faced by rotorcraft engineers and systems
architects. Adhering to the safety orientated culture within the aerospace community,
the aim of this research work is the numerical and experimental exploration of challenges
associated with the deployment of fibre optic instrumentation systems for future health
and usage monitoring. This was achieved through three objectives: (1) development
of a computational framework allowing the simulation of rotor blade dynamics at an
appropriate fidelity, (2) exploration of blade health monitoring capabilities using fibre
optic instrumentation systems and, (3) laboratory-based structural testing. Health and
usage monitoring capabilities were explored theoretically through a parametric damage
study using the computational framework. The experimental testing highlighted the need
for a sensor placement methodology for distributing FBG-based strain sensors over the
blade (both in terms of spanwise and chordwise locations) for accurately recovering mode
shapes. This was followed by investigating the accuracy of the novel DFOSS system by
deploying it on a bearingless main rotor blade along with other commercially available
instrumentation systems. Test results were used to (1) perform multi-step indirect finite
element modelling to increase the accuracy of the developed structural model and, (2)
to explore the suitability of FBG and DFOSS measurements for damage detection. The
main finding of this work is that future rotor health and usage monitoring systems based
on fibre optic sensing technologies require the development of a hybrid FBG and DFOSS
instrumentation system. Although numerous areas of further work have been identified,
it is hoped that the adoption of such an instrumentation system will not only help reduce operational costs but also provide much needed operational data on helicopter blade
dynamics to validate methods and improve designs.PhD in Aerospac
Quantifying and modelling adaptive astronaut movement : motion strategies for long-duration spaceflight missions
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-223) and index.Past spaceflight experience has shown that astronauts adapt their motor control strategies to microgravity movements after approximately four weeks of microgravity exposure. A similar (but typically shorter) re-adaptation period is required upon return to Earth or partial gravity environment such as the Moon or Mars. During these adaptation periods, astronaut performance is considerably degraded and can lead to falls and mission-threatening injuries. This dissertation describes a research program to quantitatively study the dynamics and control aspects of human motor control adaptation to a spectrum of gravity environments. The key hypotheses of this research were that a) locomotor control adaptation could be observed following short exposure (on the order of hours) to a different dynamic environment and b) the observed adaptation could be predicted using a single model that applied to a spectrum of gravitational environments. Experiments were conducted on a 1-G air-bearing floor microgravity simulator and underwater to provide contrasting dynamic and gravitational environments. Subjects performed leg push-offs and hand landings to demonstrate their control strategies as they adapted.(cont.) Forces and moments from the push-offs and landings were recorded using 6-axis force-moment sensors. Joint angles were measured using a kinematic video analysis system. A suite of dynamic estimation filters was written to combine the kinetic and kinematic data. Experimental results showed significant motor control adaptation to the air-bearing floor experiments, evidenced by reduced peak push-off forces and increased sensor contact times. A model based on Golgi tendon organ (GTO) force feedback was proposed to predict the observed adaptation. Comparisons between the experimental data and the model predictions indicate that the GTO adaptation model can adequately predict the observed adaptation.by Philip Andrew Ferguson.Ph.D