Security constrained reactive power dispatch in electrical power systems

With the increased loading and exploitation of the power transmission system and also due to improved optimised operation, the problem of voltage stability and voltage collapse attracts more and more attention . A voltage collapse can take place in systems or subsystems and can appear quite abruptly. Continuous monitoring of the system state is therefore required. The cause of the 1977 New York black out has been proved to be the reactive power problem. The 1987 Tokyo black out was believed to be due to reactive power shortage and to a voltage collapse at summer peak load. These facts have strongly indicated that reactive power planning and dispatching play an important role in the security of modern power systems. A proper compensation of system voltage profiles will enhance the system securities in the operation and will reduce system losses. In this thesis, some aspects of reactive power dispatch and voltage control problem have been investigated. The research has focused on the following three issues: Firstly, the steady-state stability problem has been tackled where, a voltage collapse proximity indicator based on the optimal impedance solution of a two bus system has been generalised to an actual system and the performance of this indicator has been investigated over the whole range (stable and unstable region) to see how useful this indicator can be for an operator at any operating point. Then we went further to implement a linear reactive power dispatch algorithm in which this indicator was used for the first time to attempt to prevent a voltage collapse in the system. Secondly, a new efficient technique for N-1 security has been incorporated aiming at either maximising the reactive power reserve margin for the generators or minimising active power losses during normal as well as outage conditions (single line outage) .The reactive power redistribution after an outage is based on the S-E graph adopted by Phadke and Spong[72].Thirdly, the dispatch (N-1 security excluded) has been incorporated on line in the O.C.E.P.S. control package to improve the quality of the service and system security by optimally controlling the generator voltages (potentially the reactive control system is able to control transformers, switchable capacitors and reactors). A new function called load voltage control (similar to the load frequency control function) has been introduced to allow smooth variation of the reactive control signals towards their targets

Role of Coccidioides Antigen Testing in the Cerebrospinal Fluid for the Diagnosis of Coccidioidal Meningitis

Background. Coccidioidal meningitis (CM), a common cause of chronic meningitis in endemic area, is usually diagnosed by detection of anti-Coccidioides antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and findings may be negative in up to one-third of cases. CSF cultures and cytology are infrequently positive. Antigen detection has been used for the diagnosis of other forms of coccidioidomycosis and meningitis caused by other mycoses. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic utility of CSF Coccidioides antigen (CAg) detection for the diagnosis of CM. Methods. The medical records of patients with clinically suspected meningitis, in whom CSF was tested for Coccidioides antibodies and CAg, were retrospectively reviewed, and CSF CAg testing was prospectively conducted in patients with CM. All specimens were submitted for CAg testing. Results. Thirty-six patients with 42 episode of CM were studied. The sensitivity and specificity of CAg were 93% and 100%, respectively. Cultures of CSF were positive in 7%, antibodies were demonstrated by immunodiffusion in 67% and complement fixation in 70%, and immunoglobulin M and G antibodies were demonstrated by enzyme immunoassay in 8% and 85%, respectively. Conclusions. Testing CSF for CAg is a useful addition to diagnostic methods in suspected CM and complements testing with CSF antibodies and culture