Industrial Applications: New Solutions for the New Era

This book reprints articles from the Special Issue "Industrial Applications: New Solutions for the New Age" published online in the open-access journal Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This book consists of twelve published articles. This special edition belongs to the "Mechatronic and Intelligent Machines" section

Mandibular Attachment Device Effects on African American Veterans with Heart Failure

Heart failure is a growing epidemic that affects people nationwide and is disproportionate to African Americans. The purpose of this quantitative repeated measures study was to determine whether mandibular attachment device (MAD) therapy impacts symptoms of heart failure in African American male veterans diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The oxidative stress theory was applied in this study to assess whether MAD therapy received from Veterans Affairs (VA) dental clinics impacted heart failure symptoms, after controlling for patient body mass index (BMI) levels and smoking status. Research questions examined whether MAD had a significant effect on symptoms of heart failure in male African American veterans with OSA and whether BMI and smoking caused a moderating effect on MAD therapy treating efficacy on symptoms of heart failure. Secondary data from the VA was captured through the VA informatics and computing infrastructure. Data obtained from 29 records were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences. The repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance and the repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance were used to assess the magnitude of change in heart failure symptoms (ejection fraction, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, oxygen saturation, brain natriuretic peptide, n-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and troponins levels) while controlling for the 2 covariates. Results showed a positive mean change in systolic blood pressure while using the MAD and a negative moderated effect after controlling for BMI at 4-months on oxygen saturation. This study will aid positive social change by providing new data that can be used by the public health field towards an alternative treatment

Demand Response in Smart Grids

The Special Issue “Demand Response in Smart Grids” includes 11 papers on a variety of topics. The success of this Special Issue demonstrates the relevance of demand response programs and events in the operation of power and energy systems at both the distribution level and at the wide power system level. This reprint addresses the design, implementation, and operation of demand response programs, with focus on methods and techniques to achieve an optimized operation as well as on the electricity consumer

Multi agent system framework for demand response management in distribution networks

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThe inexorable increase in penetration of clean energies and responsive loads in the Distribution Network (DN), introduces new technical challenges for network operators. The responsibilities of Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) are being adjusted to cope with current system challenges and they are transitioning to Distribution System Operators (DSOs), taking a more active role in dynamically managing power flows across the network. Further, the advancement in distribution automation technologies provides greater opportunities for energy consumers to take more effective participation in demand reduction schemes and DSOs can be enablers of Demand Response (DR). Hence, the functionality of DR can be considered an alternative, lower cost, carbon-saving and flexible solution to defer network reinforcement. This forms the rationale behind this thesis, which aims to provide an in-depth investigation of the potential responsiveness in residential demand and its effect on constraint management of the DN. The main contribution of this thesis is the design, development and implementation of a Multi Agent System (MAS) framework for active DN management through residential DR. One advantage of the proposed platform is the capability of integrating both centralised and decentralised DR control mechanisms. It employs the responsiveness of demand from both loads shifting and shedding through price-based and incentive-based DR respectively. The feasibility and effectiveness of such a platform has been evaluated by developing and implementing the DR mechanism in three levels. The DR algorithm for several static and dynamic electricity tariffs, (Time of Use (ToU), Day-Ahead (DA) and Real Time Pricing (RTP)), is designed and developed in Low Voltage (LV) feeders. This is then expanded and implemented in a Medium Voltage (MV) feeder under an RTP environment. Finally, two incentive-based DR schemes: emergency and local community DR, are merged in the MV/LV network to improve its reliability and security. The implementation of the MAS framework demonstrated its configurability and scalability through three case studies under different scenarios. One novel aspect of this research is the consideration of customers’ characteristics in the design of the DR algorithms. In addition, at MV level, the tariffs and the required DR are allocated to each LV feeder specifically taking into account their DR potential and participation effects on the overall network performance. The simulation results at LV level show that maximum peak demand reduction and the most flattened load profile are achieved with RTP. At MV/LV network, MAS provides a community environment where the consumers can collaborate to decrease their overall demand. Moreover, the local community can reduce their dependency on the grid during daytime with PV generation. It is concluded that DR trading can benefit all players economically and also lessen DN violations from stipulated limits

Smart Urban Water Networks

This book presents the paper form of the Special Issue (SI) on Smart Urban Water Networks. The number and topics of the papers in the SI confirm the growing interest of operators and researchers for the new paradigm of smart networks, as part of the more general smart city. The SI showed that digital information and communication technology (ICT), with the implementation of smart meters and other digital devices, can significantly improve the modelling and the management of urban water networks, contributing to a radical transformation of the traditional paradigm of water utilities. The paper collection in this SI includes different crucial topics such as the reliability, resilience, and performance of water networks, innovative demand management, and the novel challenge of real-time control and operation, along with their implications for cyber-security. The SI collected fourteen papers that provide a wide perspective of solutions, trends, and challenges in the contest of smart urban water networks. Some solutions have already been implemented in pilot sites (i.e., for water network partitioning, cyber-security, and water demand disaggregation and forecasting), while further investigations are required for other methods, e.g., the data-driven approaches for real time control. In all cases, a new deal between academia, industry, and governments must be embraced to start the new era of smart urban water systems