Power Delivery Network Impedance Profile and Voltage Droop Optimization

The design process of power delivery networks (PDN) in modern computer platforms is becoming more relevant and complex due to its relationship with high-frequency effects on signal integrity. When circuits start operating, the changing current flowing through the PDN produces fluctuations creating voltage noise. Unsuccessful noise control can compromise data integrity. A suitable PDN design approach is the use of decoupling capacitors to lower the impedance profile and mitigate current surges, ensuring a small variation in the power supply voltage under significant transient current loads. An optimization approach to determine the number of decoupling capacitors in a PDN is presented in this paper, aiming at decreasing the amount of decoupling capacitors without violating the PDN design specifications, looking at both the impedance profile in the frequency domain and the resulting voltage droop in the transient time-domain.ITESO, A.C

Micro air vehicles energy transportation for a wireless power transfer system

The aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility use of an Micro air vehicles (MAV) in order to power wirelessly an electric system, for example, a sensor network, using low-cost and open-source elements. To achieve this objective, an inductive system has been modelled and validated to power wirelessly a sensor node using a Crazyflie 2.0 as MAV. The design of the inductive system must be small and light enough to fulfil the requirements of the Crazyflie. An inductive model based on two resonant coils is presented. Several coils are defined to be tested using the most suitable resonant configuration. Measurements are performed to validate the model and to select the most suitable coil. While attempting to minimize the weight at transmitter’s side, on the receiver side it is intended to efficiently acquire and manage the power obtained from the transmitter. In order to prove its feasibility, a temperature sensor node is used as demonstrator. The experiment results show successfully energy transportation by MAV, and wireless power transfer for the resonant configuration, being able to completely charge the node battery and to power the temperature sensor.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Modeliranje, upravljanje i eksperimentalno istraživanje novoga raspodijeljenog statičkog kompenzatora jalove snage zasnovanog na višestupanjskom pretvaraču s ulančenim H-mostovima

A novel static synchronous compensator for reactive power compensation of distribution system (DSTATCOM) is proposed, based on the cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter configuration. The mathematical formulation of the multilevel DSTATCOM is presented using state-space representations. A new software phase-locked loop (SPLL) is presented for grid synchronization and the obtained phase angle of the fundamental component of the grid voltage is utilized for deriving the active and reactive power balancing equations of the multilevel DSTATCOM. The proportional-resonant (PR) controller scheme is adopted for the current tracking control of the inverter, and the average dc-link voltage is controlled using a proportional-integral (PI) controller to regulate the active power flow of the DSTATCOM. Besides, the voltage balancing (VB) control among individual H-bridges is achieved by using separate PI regulators to control the difference voltage between the individual dc-link voltage and the average dc-link voltage. The validity of the proposed multilevel DSTATCOM and its control strategies is substantially confirmed by the extensive simulation results and the experimental results from the prototype system.Predložen je novi statički sinkroni kompenzator za kompenzaciju jalove snage distribucijskog sustava (DSTATCOM) zasnovan na konfiguraciji višestupanjskog pretvarača s ulančenim H-mostovima. Matematički model višerazinskog DSTATCOM-a prikazan je u prostoru stanja. Predstavljena je nova programski izvedena petlja sa zaključanom fazom namijenjena sinkronizaciji s mrežom, a dobiveni fazni kut osnovne komponente mrežnog napona koristi se za izvod jednadžbi ravnoteže aktivne i jalove snage višerazinskog DSTATCOM-a. Usvojen je koncept proporcionalno-rezonantnog regulatora za slijeđenje trajektorije struje pretvarača, a srednji napon istosmjernog međukruga upravlja se korištenjem proporcionalno-integracijskog (PI) regulatora u svrhu regulacije toka radne snage DSTATCOM-a. Osim toga, upravljanje uravnoteženjem napona među pojedinim H-mostovima ostvareno je korištenjem odvojenih PI regulatora za upravljanje razlikom napona među pojedinim istosmjernim međukrugovima te srednjim naponom istosmjernih međukrugova. Valjanost predloženog višestupanjskog DSTATCOM-a i primijenjenih upravljačkih strategija potvrđena je brojnim simulacijskim i eksperimentalnim rezultatima na prototipskoj izvedbi ovog sustava

Modeling of Utility Distribution Feeder in OpenDSS with Steady State Impact Analysis of Distributed Generation

With the deregulation of the electric power industry and the advancement of new technologies, the attention of the utilities has been drawn towards adopting Distributed Generation (DG) into their existing infrastructure. The deployment of DG brings ample technological and environmental benefits to the traditional distribution networks. The appropriate sizing and placement of DGs which generate power locally to fulfill consumer demands, helps to reduce power losses and avoid transmission and distribution system expansion.;The primary objective of this thesis is to model a utility distribution feeder in OpenDSS. Studies are conducted on the data obtained from American Electric Power utility. This thesis develops models for 12.47 kV (medium voltage) distribution feeders in OpenDSS by utilizing the existing models in CYMDIST. The model conversion is achieved by a detailed one-to-one component matching approach for multi phased lines, conductors, underground cables, loads, regulators and capacitor banks. The power flow results of OpenDSS and CYMDIST are compared to derive important conclusions.;The second major objective is to analyze the impacts of DG on distribution systems and two focus areas are chosen, namely: effect on voltage profiles and losses of the system and the effects on power market operation. To analyze the impacts of DG on the distribution systems, Photovoltaic (PV) system with varying penetration levels are integrated at different locations along the developed feeder model. PV systems are one of the fastest growing DG technologies, with a lot of utilities in North America expressing interest in its implementation. Many utilities either receive incentives or are mandated by green-generation portfolio regulations to install solar PV systems on their feeders. The large number of PV interconnection requests to the utilities has led to typical studies in the areas of power quality, protection and operation of distribution feeders. The high penetration of PV into the system throws up some interesting implications for the utilities. Bidirectional power flow into a distribution system, (which is designed for one way power flow) may impact system voltage profiles and losses. In this thesis, the effects of voltage unbalance and the losses of the feeder are analyzed for different PV location and penetration scenarios.;Further, this thesis tries to assess the impact of DG on power market operations. In a deregulated competitive market, Generation companies (Genco) sell electricity to the Power exchange (PX) from which large customers such as distribution companies (Disco) and aggregators may purchase electricity to meet their needs through a double sided bidding system. The reliable and efficient operation of this new market structure is ensured by an independent body known as the Independent System Operator (ISO). Under such a market structure, a particular type of unit commitment, called the Price Based Unit Commitment (PBUC) is used by the Genco to determine optimal bids in order to maximize its profit. However, the inclusion of intermittent DG resources such as wind farms by the Gencos causes uncertainty in PBUC schedules. In this research, the effects of intermittency in the DG resource availability on the PBUC schedule of a Genco owning a distribution side wind farm are analyzed

Design and Analysis of Electrical Power and Communication Systems for 3U SeaLion CubeSat Mission

Old Dominion University (ODU) Space Systems students in conjunction with the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) are designing and developing a 3U Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) CubeSat mission aptly named SeaLion. This work specifically details the design of the Electrical Power System (EPS) and Communication System of the satellite. Electrical power in orbit is a precious commodity and must be carefully regulated and distributed to ensure the satellite’s operational health. Commonly, CubeSat electrical power is retained in orbit via outward facing solar cells and stored in onboard rechargeable batteries. This thesis proposes using non-rechargeable primary battery cells and custom hardware to maximize operational time with strict Very Low orbital lifetime constraints. Primary battery cell choice and the encompassing battery power supply design with reliability features are provided. Major functions of the EPS including voltage and current regulation and circuit protection and monitoring are also designed and analyzed for performance and reliability. The communication system consists of two half-duplex radios centered in the UHF and S-Band frequency bands to communicate with the Virginia CubeSat Constellation (VCC) and Mobile CubeSat Command and Communications (MC3) ground station networks, respectively. The design and analysis provided show the viability and cost efficiency of using primary cells and custom and readily available hardware for Very Low Earth Orbit CubeSat missions

Optimal excitation controllers, and location and sizing of energy storage for all-electric ship power system

The Navy\u27s future all-electric ship power system is based on the integrated power system (IPS) architecture consisting of power generation, propulsion systems, hydrodynamics, and DC zonal electric distribution system (DC-ZEDS). To improve the power quality, optimal excitation systems, and optimal location and sizing of energy storage modules (ESMs) are studied. In this dissertation, clonal selection algorithm (CSA) based controller design is firstly introduced. CSA based controller design shows better exploitation ability with relatively long search time when compared to a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based design. Furthermore, \u27optimal\u27 small population PSO (SPPSO) based excitation controller is introduced. Parameter sensitivity analysis shows that the parameters of SPPSO for regeneration can be fined tuned to achieve fast optimal controller design, and thus exploiting SPPSO features for problem of particles get trapped in local minima and long search time. Furthermore, artificial immune system based concepts are used to develop adaptive and coordinated excitation controllers for generators on ship IPS. The computational approaches for excitation controller designs have been implemented on digital signal processors interfaced to an actual laboratory synchronous machine, and to multimachine electric ship power systems simulated on a real-time digital simulator. Finally, an approach to evaluate ESM location and sizing is proposed using three metrics: quality of service, survivability and cost. Multiple objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) is used to optimize these metrics and provide Pareto fronts for optimal ESM location and sizing --Abstract, page iv

Wireless Sensor Mesh Network for Irrigation Systems

Pepper Oak Farms, a company that grows their own olives for olive oil and has approximately 40,000 olive trees, is in need of an efficient way to monitor the soil and atmospheric conditions that are critical to the cultivation of their trees. The company at the moment only has two sensors and has to manually place the sensors at different locations to collect data on soil moisture and temperature. This is expensive, time consuming, and a lot of effort on the owner’s part to go out on the fields to collect this data. As a solution, the company would like to create a wireless mesh network with different nodes throughout the land to monitor and collect data from the sensors. The project goals are to implement this wireless mesh network with enough nodes in the network to cover most of the area on the land and for the project to be self-monitored. To help cover costs, we will be using modules that use Zigbee IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocols and standards which are used for low power consumption and have a range of up to 100 meters. The modules will be interfaced with Texas Instrument’s Tiva C microcontrollers that will collect the output of the sensors to be later transmitted to the home network

Electrical Loads and Power Systems for the DEMO Nuclear Fusion Project

EU-DEMO is a European project, having the ambitious goal to be the first demonstrative power plant based on nuclear fusion. The electrical power that is expected to be produced is in the order of 700–800 MW, to be delivered via a connection to the European High Voltage electrical grid. The initiation and control of fusion processes, besides the problems related to the nuclear physics, need very complex electrical systems. Moreover, also the conversion of the output power is not trivial, especially because of the inherent discontinuity in the EU-DEMO operations. The present article concerns preliminary studies for the feasibility and realization of the nuclear fusion power plant EU-DEMO, with a special focus on the power electrical systems. In particular, the first stage of the study deals with the survey and analysis of the electrical loads, starting from the steady-state loads. Their impact is so relevant that could jeopardy the efficiency and the convenience of the plant itself. Afterwards, the loads are inserted into a preliminary internal distribution grid, sizing the main electrical components to carry out the power flow analysis, which is based on simulation models implemented in the DIgSILENT PowerFactory software