Hybrid power systems energy management based on Artificial Intelligence

This thesis presents a novel adaptive scheme for energy management in stand-alone hybrid power systems. The proposed management system is designed to manage the power flow between the hybrid power system and energy storage elements in order to satisfy the load requirements based on artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy logic controllers. The neural network controller is employed to achieve the maximum power point (MPP) for different types of photovoltaic (PV) panels, based on Levenberg Marquardt learning algorithm. The statistical analysis of the results indicates that the R2 value for the testing set was 0.99. The advance fuzzy logic controller is developed to distribute the power among the hybrid system and to manage the charge and discharge current flow for performance optimization. The developed management system performance was assessed using a hybrid system comprises PV panels, wind turbine, battery storage, and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). To improve the generating performance of the PEMFC and prolong its life, stack temperature is controlled by a fuzzy logic controller. Moreover, perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm with two different controller techniques - the linear PI and the non-linear passivity-based controller (PBC) - are provided for a comparison with the proposed MPPT controller system. The comparison revealed the robustness of the proposed PV control system for solar irradiance and load resistance changes. Real-time measured parameters and practical load profiles are used as inputs for the developed management system. The proposed model and its control strategy offer a proper tool for optimizing the hybrid power system performance, such as the one used in smart-house applications. The research work also led to a new approach in monitoring PV power stations. The monitoring system enables system degradation early detection by calculating the residual difference between the model predicted and the actual measured power parameters. Measurements were taken over 21 month’s period; using hourly average irradiance and cell temperature. Good agreement was achieved between the theoretical simulation and the real time measurement taken the online grid connected solar power plant

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely