Distributed Robust Set-Invariance for Interconnected Linear Systems

We introduce a class of distributed control policies for networks of discrete-time linear systems with polytopic additive disturbances. The objective is to restrict the network-level state and controls to user-specified polyhedral sets for all times. This problem arises in many safety-critical applications. We consider two problems. First, given a communication graph characterizing the structure of the information flow in the network, we find the optimal distributed control policy by solving a single linear program. Second, we find the sparsest communication graph required for the existence of a distributed invariance-inducing control policy. Illustrative examples, including one on platooning, are presented.Comment: 8 Pages. Submitted to American Control Conference (ACC), 201

International White Book on DER Protection : Review and Testing Procedures

This white book provides an insight into the issues surrounding the impact of increasing levels of DER on the generator and network protection and the resulting necessary improvements in protection testing practices. Particular focus is placed on ever increasing inverter-interfaced DER installations and the challenges of utility network integration. This white book should also serve as a starting point for specifying DER protection testing requirements and procedures. A comprehensive review of international DER protection practices, standards and recommendations is presented. This is accompanied by the identifi cation of the main performance challenges related to these protection schemes under varied network operational conditions and the nature of DER generator and interface technologies. Emphasis is placed on the importance of dynamic testing that can only be delivered through laboratory-based platforms such as real-time simulators, integrated substation automation infrastructure and fl exible, inverter-equipped testing microgrids. To this end, the combination of fl exible network operation and new DER technologies underlines the importance of utilising the laboratory testing facilities available within the DERlab Network of Excellence. This not only informs the shaping of new protection testing and network integration practices by end users but also enables the process of de-risking new DER protection technologies. In order to support the issues discussed in the white paper, a comparative case study between UK and German DER protection and scheme testing practices is presented. This also highlights the level of complexity associated with standardisation and approval mechanisms adopted by different countries

Optimal Decentralized State-Feedback Control with Sparsity and Delays

This work presents the solution to a class of decentralized linear quadratic state-feedback control problems, in which the plant and controller must satisfy the same combination of delay and sparsity constraints. Using a novel decomposition of the noise history, the control problem is split into independent subproblems that are solved using dynamic programming. The approach presented herein both unifies and generalizes many existing results

Automatic Tuning of PID Controllers Based on Asymmetric Relay Feedback

This thesis presents an improved version of the classic relay autotuner. The proposed autotuner uses an asymmetric relay function to better excite the process in the experiment phase. The improved excitation provides the possibility to obtain better models and hence better tuning, without making the autotuner more complicated or time consuming.Some processes demand more accurate modeling and tuning to obtain con-trollers of sufficient performance. The proposed autotuner can classify these processes from the experiment. In an advanced version of the autotuner an additional experiment could be dhttps://localhost/admin/login.phpesigned for these processes, in order to further increase the possibilities in modeling and tuning. The experiment design would then rely on information from the relay experiment. A simple version of the autotuner could instead make a somewhat better model estimation immediately, or suggest that some extra effort may be put in modeling if the control performance of the loop is crucial. The main focus in this thesis is on the simple version of the autotuner.The proposed autotuner uses the process classification for model and controller selection also in the simple version. The processes are classified according to their normalized time delays. In this thesis a simple method of finding the normalized time delay from the asymmetric relay experiment is presented and evaluated.Research presented on different versions of the relay autotuner is often based solely on simulations. In large simulation environments, the ability to automatically tune the large amount of PID controllers is practical and time-saving. However, the ability to use the autotuner in an industrial setting, requires considerations not always present in a simulation environment. This thesis investigates many of these issues, regarding parameter settings and possible error sources. The proposed autotuner is implemented, tested and evaluated both in a simulation environment and by industrial experiments. The simple version of the autotuner gives satisfactory results, both in simulations and on the industrial processes. Still, there is a possibility to further increase the performance by an advanced version of the autotuner

An Assessment of PIER Electric Grid Research 2003-2014 White Paper

This white paper describes the circumstances in California around the turn of the 21st century that led the California Energy Commission (CEC) to direct additional Public Interest Energy Research funds to address critical electric grid issues, especially those arising from integrating high penetrations of variable renewable generation with the electric grid. It contains an assessment of the beneficial science and technology advances of the resultant portfolio of electric grid research projects administered under the direction of the CEC by a competitively selected contractor, the University of California’s California Institute for Energy and the Environment, from 2003-2014

The Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) CubeSat: optomechanical design validation and laboratory calibration

Coronagraphs on future space telescopes will require precise wavefront correction to detect Earth-like exoplanets near their host stars. High-actuator count microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirrors provide wavefront control with low size, weight, and power. The Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) payload will demonstrate a 140 actuator MEMS deformable mirror (DM) with \SI{5.5}{\micro\meter} maximum stroke. We present the flight optomechanical design, lab tests of the flight wavefront sensor and wavefront reconstructor, and simulations of closed-loop control of wavefront aberrations. We also present the compact flight DM controller, capable of driving up to 192 actuator channels at 0-250V with 14-bit resolution. Two embedded Raspberry Pi 3 compute modules are used for task management and wavefront reconstruction. The spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat (30 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm) and launch is planned for 2019.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figues. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, Austin, Texas, US

Application of Advanced Early Warning Systems with Adaptive Protection

This project developed and field-tested two methods of Adaptive Protection systems utilizing synchrophasor data. One method detects conditions of system stress that can lead to unintended relay operation, and initiates a supervisory signal to modify relay response in real time to avoid false trips. The second method detects the possibility of false trips of impedance relays as stable system swings “encroach” on the relays’ impedance zones, and produces an early warning so that relay engineers can re-evaluate relay settings. In addition, real-time synchrophasor data produced by this project was used to develop advanced visualization techniques for display of synchrophasor data to utility operators and engineers

Towards a New Generation of Relay Autotuners

The relay autotuner for PID control is based on the simple idea of investigating process dynamics by the oscillation obtained when the PID controller is replaced by a relay unction. In this paper an asymmetric relay function is used, which provides an equation for the static gain of the process. A method to find the normalized time delay is proposed and the benefits of this is discussed. Ways to find low-order models from the experiment are described. Considerations of how to choose the relay parameters are made and some examples are given