A Solar PV Based Multistage Grid Tie Inverter

The inherent advantage of fuel less and maintenance free energy production from solar photovoltaic makes it a very important source of energy. For harnessing power from the solar photovoltaic (PV) cell/array and to supply it to the utility grid, dc to ac inverters is needed. The conventional line commutated dc-to-ac inverter has square shaped line current which contains higher order harmonics whereas PWM based inverters employing IGBT/ MOSFET are less reliable and has low power handling capability. Moreover, a dc-to-dc converter is generally employed along with the inverter circuit to operate the solar PV array at maximum power point. It adds to the cost, which increases with the size of the system. This paper describes a multistage series converter topology for solar PV based grid tie inverter with low harmonic in line current and inbuilt maximum power point tracking (MPPT) features. The developed prototype has been experimentally tested and verified.Keywords: Multistage converter, Grid tie inverter, Maximum power point tracker (MPPT), Total harmonic distortion, photovoltaic system

Effects of safety pattern, cabin ergonomics, and sleep on work-related stress and burnout of city and transit bus drivers in Lahore, Pakistan

The health and working environment of bus drivers is compromised in low-middle-income countries like Pakistan which leads to burnout and excessive Road Traffic Crashes. Hence, this study delves into factors affecting their safe operations from health and work environment perspectives and measures their associated stress and Burnout level. In a study of four hundred and ninety-nine (499), 86% city and 14% transit bus drivers are surveyed through a questionnaire. Stress is estimated for city and transit bus drivers, using the Effort/Reward Imbalance Model (ERI) of Siegrist, and burnout is calculated using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). For the determination of important determinants, descriptive and regression analyses are conducted. Findings show that stress has emerged as a negative factor for the physical and psychological health of city and transit bus drivers. Results based on bus drivers’ responses suggest that organisational awareness and emphasis on health and safety levels can significantly reduce driver stress and burnout

Black Holes in Bulk Viscous Cosmology

We investigate the effects of the accretion of phantom energy with non-zero bulk viscosity onto a Schwarzschild black hole and show that black holes accreting viscous phantom energy will lose mass rapidly compared to the non-viscous case. When matter is incorporated along with the phantom energy, the black holes meet with the same fate as bulk viscous forces dominate matter accretion. If the phantom energy has large bulk viscosity, then the mass of the black hole will reduce faster than in the small viscosity case.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Int. J. Theor. Phy

Electric Power Network Interconnection: A Review on Current Status, Future Prospects and Research Direction

An interconnection of electric power networks enables decarbonization of the electricity system by harnessing and sharing large amounts of renewable energy. The highest potential renewable energy areas are often far from load centers, integrated through long-distance transmission interconnections. The transmission interconnection mitigates the variability of renewable energy sources by importing and exporting electricity between neighbouring regions. This paper presents an overview of regional and global energy consumption trends by use of fuel. A large power grid interconnection, including renewable energy and its integration into the utility grid, and globally existing large power grid interconnections are also presented. The technologies used for power grid interconnections include HVAC, HVDC (including LCC, VSC comprising of MMC-VSC, HVDC light), VFT, and newly proposed FASAL are discussed with their potential projects. Future trends of grid interconnection, including clean energy initiatives and developments, UHV AC and DC transmission systems, and smart grid developments, are presented in detail. A review of regional and global initiatives in the context of a sustainable future by implementing electric energy interconnections is presented. It presents the associated challenges and benefits of globally interconnected power grids and intercontinental interconnectors. Finally, in this paper, research directions in clean and sustainable energy, smart grid, UHV transmission systems that facilitate the global future grid interconnection goal are addressed

Voltage Independent Reactive Current Based Sensor for Static VAr Control Applications

The use of renewable energy-based converters is continuously increasing in modern power systems which inject voltage harmonics in the line. In this work, a novel, simple technique based on a binary (on/off) control of an analog switch is proposed to measure reactive current and reactive power. This method eliminates the requirement of finding sin( $\phi$ ) and its multiplication with the current signal in reactive power computation. The proposed transducer gives a dc signal proportional to the reactive current of a power system, i.e., ${I}$ sin( $\phi$ ), which is suitable for static VAr compensator (SVC) applications. This transducer output is sufficient as the terminal voltage is common for the measurement as well as for the compensation current. Thus, the required current of SVC for compensation is equal to or proportional to ${I}$ sin( $\phi$ ). Moreover, voltage harmonics are common in a power system. These harmonics affect the measurement of fundamental reactive power. This method eliminates the need for voltage measurement and hence the measurement is independent of the harmonics of the voltage, which reduces the measurement error. The proposed method is proved mathematically, and its performance is successfully validated through simulation analysis and hardware implementation. The advantages of the proposed technique are linearity of the transducer output, simple working, inexpensive hardware realization, fast response, and online measurement capability. The response time of the transducer is one cycle of supply voltage which is suitable for SVC applications. 2001-2012 IEEE.Scopu