Innovative Higher Education Approaches for Power System Courses

Higher education plays a crucial role in modern society and in emerging energy systems, due to the rising complexity of the phenomena and the interplay among various layers (physical, cyber, social and economic). To cope with this context, universities need to develop new visions and tools for education and training. Real-time simulation (RTS) is emerging as a novel and effective approach to analyzing power system aspects, and this characteristic can be effectively used in power system courses. Hence, after the presentation of the basics about the RTS, the paper will show the advantages of employing RTS for teaching activities. Finally, two examples of didactic activities involving RTS at Politecnico di Torino will be presented. In fact, RTS is part of both multi-disciplinary projects (where students with different backgrounds can face the issues affecting the protection and control of power systems) and the course “Electrical systems and safety”, where RTS is used to study the behavior of voltage transformers in saturation

Seeds of Solutions™: An economical & efficient approach towards power engineering education

Power demands are set to increase over the next twenty years; however, research shows that there may be a shortage of power engineers due to an appreciable percentage of the current power engineer workforce retiring, insufficient enrollment in power engineering programs and a lack of emphasis in power engineering at the university level. This thesis provides supporting research for future power demands, workforce and faculty shortages. Using temporary research in modern learning / teaching styles, student / teacher perceptions, educational trends and regional course offerings, this thesis describes a learning approach towards power engineering education. Designed specifically for universities with little to no power engineering course offerings and universities that wish to augment their existing approach, the approach incorporates an emphasis in fundamentals and engineering design making it economical and easy to implement. This thesis also includes three (3) video laboratory examples incorporating all elements of the approach

PLC Control and Matlab/Simulink Simulations – A Translation Approach

Postprint (published version

Virtual Reality Applied to Welder Training

Welding is a challenging, risky, and time-consuming profession. Recently, there has been a documented shortage of trained welders, and as a result, the market is pushing for an increase in the rate at which new professionals are trained. To address this growing demand, training institutions are exploring alternative methods to train future professionals with the goals of improving learner retention of information, shortening training periods, and lowering associated expenses. The emergence of virtual reality technologies has led to initiatives to explore their potential for welding training. Multiple studies have suggested that virtual reality training delivers comparable, or even superior, results when compared to more conventional approaches, with shorter training times and reduced costs in consumables. Additionally, virtual reality allows trainees to try out different approaches to their work. The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop a virtual reality welding simulator. To achieve this objective effectively, the creation of a classification system capable of identifying the simulator’s key characteristics becomes imperative. Therefore, the secondary objective of this thesis is to develop a classification system for the accurate evaluation and comparison of virtual reality welding simulators. Regarding the virtual reality welding simulation, the HTC VIVE Pro 2 virtual reality equipment was employed, to transfer the user’s action from the physical to the virtual world. Within this virtual environment, it was introduced a suite of welding tools and integrated a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulator to mimic the weld creation. After conducting comprehensive testing that revealed certain limitations in welding quality and in the simulator performance, the project opted to incorporate a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulator. The development of the CFD simulator proved to be a formidable challenge, and regrettably, its complete implementation was unattainable. Nevertheless, the project delved into three distinct grid architectures, from these, the dynamic grid was ultimately implemented. It also proficiently integrated two crucial solvers for the Navier-Stokes equations. These functions were implemented in the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), to improve their efficiency. Upon comparing GPU and Central Processing Unit (CPU) performance, the project highlighted the substantial computational advantages of GPUs and the advantages it brings to fluid simulations.A soldadura é uma profissão exigente, perigosa e que requer um grande investimento de tempo para alcançar resultados satisfatórios. Recentemente, tem sido registada uma falta de profissionais qualificados na área da soldadura. Como resultado, o mer cado está a pressionar para um aumento do ritmo a que os novos trabalhadores são formados. Para responder a esta crescente procura, as instituições de formação estão a explorar métodos alternativos para formar futuros profissionais, com o objetivo de melhorar a retenção de informação, encurtar os períodos de treino e reduzir as despe sas associadas. Com o desenvolvimento de tecnologias nas áreas de realidade virtual e realidade aumentada, têm surgido iniciativas para explorar o potencial destas na formação de soldadura. Vários estudos sugeriram que a formação em realidade virtual proporciona resultados comparáveis, ou mesmo superiores, aos de abordagens mais convencionais, com tempos de formação mais curtos e reduções nos custos de consumíveis. Além disso, a realidade virtual permite aos formandos experimentar diferentes abordagens ao seu trabalho. O objetivo principal desta dissertação é o desenvolvimento de um simulador de soldadura em realidade virtual. Para atingir este objetivo de forma eficaz, torna-se imperativa a criação de um sistema de classificação capaz de identificar as características chave do simulador. Assim, o objetivo secundário desta dissertação é desenvolver um sistema de classificação para a avaliação e comparação precisas de simuladores de soldadura em realidade virtual. Relativamente ao simulador de soldadura em realidade virtual, foi utilizado o kit de realidade virtual HTC VIVE Pro 2, para transferir as ações do utilizador no mundo físico para o mundo virtual. No ambiente virtual, foi introduzido um con junto de ferramentas de soldadura e integrado um simulador de Hidrodinâmica de Partículas Suavizadas para simular a criação da solda. Após a realização de testes exaustivos que revelaram algumas limitações na qualidade da solda e no desempenho do simulador, o projeto optou por incorporar um simulador de Dinâmica de Fluidos Computacional (CFD). O desenvolvimento do simulador CFD revelou-se um desa fio formidável e, infelizmente, não foi possível completar a sua implementação. No entanto, o projeto aprofundou três arquiteturas de grelha distintas, das quais foi implementada a grelha dinâmica. O projeto também implementou duas funções cru ciais para resolver as equações de Navier-Stokes. As funções relativas ao simulador de fluidos foram implementadas na Unidade de Processamento Gráfico (GPU), a fim de melhorar a sua eficiência. Ao comparar o desempenho da GPU com o da Unidade Central de Processamento (CPU), o projeto evidenciou os beneficios computacionais das GPUs e as vantagens que trazem para as simulações de fluidos

Program: Graduate Research Achievement Day 2017

Full program for 2017 Graduate Research Achievement Day.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/graduateschool_achievementday2017-18_programs/1001/thumbnail.jp

Research and Education in Computational Science and Engineering

Over the past two decades the field of computational science and engineering (CSE) has penetrated both basic and applied research in academia, industry, and laboratories to advance discovery, optimize systems, support decision-makers, and educate the scientific and engineering workforce. Informed by centuries of theory and experiment, CSE performs computational experiments to answer questions that neither theory nor experiment alone is equipped to answer. CSE provides scientists and engineers of all persuasions with algorithmic inventions and software systems that transcend disciplines and scales. Carried on a wave of digital technology, CSE brings the power of parallelism to bear on troves of data. Mathematics-based advanced computing has become a prevalent means of discovery and innovation in essentially all areas of science, engineering, technology, and society; and the CSE community is at the core of this transformation. However, a combination of disruptive developments---including the architectural complexity of extreme-scale computing, the data revolution that engulfs the planet, and the specialization required to follow the applications to new frontiers---is redefining the scope and reach of the CSE endeavor. This report describes the rapid expansion of CSE and the challenges to sustaining its bold advances. The report also presents strategies and directions for CSE research and education for the next decade.Comment: Major revision, to appear in SIAM Revie