Multi agent based control and protection for an inverter based microgrid

Legacy electrical infrastructure is failing to provide the reliability and the resiliency towards faults expected by the modern energy intensive society. Implementation of smarter microgrids, are proving to be part of the solution for this. Development of such systems requires distributed intelligence capabilities absent in legacy control systems. This research focuses on proposing a dual layered, multi agent based control system for distributed control of a microgrid aimed at intentional islanding and dynamic load management. The architecture consists of two layers; primary strategic level layer and secondary execution level layer. The Control agent in the primary, or the strategic level, is capable of supervising the secondary layer agents. The proposed Multi Agent System (MAS) controller provides islanding capabilities to a microgrid during disturbances in the main utility grid. During islanded operation, the MAS is able to maintain the supply to the most critical local loads. If the priority levels of the loads change after loads are shed, the MAS is able to reassign power to the revised most critical load/s. The proposed multi agent based control architecture is developed using the JADE platform and it is used to control a microgrid simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, investigations are carried out for islanding and dynamic load management scenarios simulated on the test network. The results of these studies show the capability of developing a reliable control mechanism for islanding operation of microgrids based on the proposed concept

Demand side management for micro grids through smart meters

Microgrid is a small scale power system consisting of distributed small power facilities such as solar power, wind power and micro-turbines. The microgrid has been researched and encouraged actively in many countries, because of some merits such as an eco-friendly system, good quality power supply and energy security. Microgrid power generation satisfies the power requirement of considerable number of consumers during the islanded operation. During this off grid time of operation a Demand Side Management (DSM) system can be used for better power distribution among the consumers. DSM promotes the efficient usage of power, while focusing on the network stability and reliability. Because it monitors the real time power consumption of users and automatically distribute the excess power of the system while controlling the power usage of the users to keep the network stability. The authors have developed few smart meter units, robust communication system and a main server to help to transmit the real time information to the consumer as well as to the main control unit which runs the DSM program

Dual layered multi agent system for load management during islanded operation of a microgrid

This paper proposes a novel dual layered multi agent system (MAS) control architecture for distributed control of a microgrid. The proposed MAS controller provides islanding capabilities to a microgrid during disturbances in the main utility grid. During islanded operation, the MAS is able to maintain the supply to the most critical local loads. If the priority levels of the loads change after loads are shed, the MAS is able to reassign power to the revised most critical load/s. The MAS is developed using the JADE platform and is implemented on a microgrid test-bed simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The obtained results validate the capability of the MAS control architecture in controlling and protecting the microgrid

Quantum tunneling composite (QTC) based tactile sensor array for dynamic pressure distribution measurement

This paper presents the design and simulation of a quantum tunneling composite (QTC) based tactile sensor array for use in pressure distribution measurement. QTC exhibits a rapid reduction in resistance with applied force making it suited for use in force sensing applications. Properties of QTC are exploited to design a tactile sensor array capable of measuring a dynamic pressure distribution over the sensor area. QTC acts a complete conductor after a certain stage reducing its effectiveness as a force sensor beyond that stage. QTC also takes considerable time to return to its original state after deformation due to force. These drawbacks found in QTC, limits its use to only that of a simple low cost switch. The proposed design for the tactile sensor array overcomes these drawbacks found in QTC material by incorporating a novel sensor array structure which enables an extended range of operation and allows rapid return to its unloaded state. This design allows for the use of QTC as a simple, cheap force sensor. The design can be further optimized to match the characteristics of the proposed sensor with the force range of a given application. A collection of such tactile elements is used to create a dynamic force sensing array. The design and simulation of the sensor array structure is described. This sensor array can be connected via a data acquisition system to a computer, which converts the data into a color contour map using LabView and MATLAB to measure and display the force distribution in realtime

Dual layered multi agent system for load management during islanded operation of a microgrid

This paper proposes a novel dual layered multi agent system (MAS) control architecture for distributed control of a microgrid. The proposed MAS controller provides islanding capabilities to a microgrid during disturbances in the main utility grid. During islanded operation, the MAS is able to maintain the supply to the most critical local loads. If the priority levels of the loads change after loads are shed, the MAS is able to reassign power to the revised most critical load/s. The MAS is developed using the JADE platform and is implemented on a microgrid test-bed simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The obtained results validate the capability of the MAS control architecture in controlling and protecting the microgrid

Development of wearable fingertip tactile display driven by bowden cables

This paper presents the development and human interaction evaluation of a Bowden cable based wearable fingertip tactile display. This device is designed to be used in the field of virtual reality and teleoperation to render different types of tactile sensations such as grip force, slipping, roughness and softness through delivering normal force, skin stretch, tangential movement and vibration indication to the user. This paper evaluates the proposed device’s capability in delivering individual taxel actuation through user testing. A four taxel actuation system fixed to a mild steel skeleton is covered in silicone rubber to ensure wearer comfort. A secondary mechanism is developed to provide sliding and lateral skin stretch sensation to the user. In addition, an 8 mm diameter piezo vibration motor is used to deliver vibration to indicate slipping to the user. The force feedback system consist of four independently operable taxels positioned at 2mm center to center distance on the fingertip. Each taxel was actuated via a Bowden cable connected to a geared DC motor, mounted on a lower arm worn sleeve. A taxel discrimination experiment was done to validate human discrimination ability of each taxel and the results showed that a healthy human can distinguish each taxel with 87.45 % mean accuracy

A Review on Multi‐Agent systems in micro grid applications

The applications of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) in electrical power systems are becoming popular due to their inherent benefits such as increased autonomy, reactivity, pro activity and social ability. This paper reviews current research on the application of multi-agent systems in micro grid schemes. The paper is mainly focused on recent developments of multi-agent systems in different aspects of micro grids such as control, market modeling, optimization and power restoration. The future directions of multi-agent systems in micro grid applications are also discussed briefly. Furthermore, this review is concluded by discussing the development of an enhanced multi-agent based distributed control framework for micro grids

A Novel fabrication method for rapid prototyping of soft structures with embedded pneumatic channels

Soft robotics is a major disruptive technology that is rapidly revolutionizing the world of robotics. As the design optimization of these soft robotic structures are still in its infancy, their designers have to resort to prototype testing. This paper describes how a novel casting method based on a 2D layered approach and thermal programming of pneumatic tubing can be used to simplify soft structure prototyping. The proposed casting method is based on the sequential stacking of laser-cut pre-fabricated plates, i.e. PMMA (acrylic) sheets, to create a 3D mold, instead of the traditional methods of fabricating 3D molds, such as CNC machining or 3D printing. Contemporary soft robotic applications are more interested in pneumatic actuation and thus require pneumatic channels embedded within their structure. Creation of channels is a critical factor that limit the fabrication scope of most such soft structures. A simple solution is using Polyurethane (PU) tubing to create channels within soft structures. A limitation of PU tubes is that, they cannot be directly embedded as any twist added to obtain the required path of the tube adds a strain on the soft structure from within, which can affect the desired operation. Hence, the authors propose removing the strain on the PU tubes by thermally programming the required shape onto the PU tube. PU tubes reinforced with copper cores are bent in to the desired shape and are heat treated to program the desired shape. After placing the programmed tubes within the mold, silicon rubber can be simply poured into the mold; and the finished structure can be taken out of the mold once cured. Main purpose of this paper is to present these two novel fabrication methods to simplify soft robotic prototyping, without the need for advanced, costly, complex equipment

Development of an automated guided vehicle for use in industrial applications

This paper presents a navigation system for an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) based on existing IEEE 802.11 wireless infrastructure in place for localization and navigation, through the use of multiple wireless access points. A fingerprinting based method is used to deduce the location based on the wireless signal intensities and a Kalman filter based approach is used to estimate the location of the unit accurately. The proposed method is able to break free of the accumulation of error in pure odometry based system and the error in pure signal intensity based systems due to variability of the received signal. The system incorporates the localization system with a navigation system including obstacle detection and avoidance to improve upon existing AVG navigation systems

Design and development of a novel fixturing solution for handling complex shaped components

Fixturing is one of the key subprocesses used in many industries such as aerospace, automobile and marine engineering. Most existing fixturing systems use pin-type end effectors which apply concentrated loads (See Fig. 1. (Left)) on objects resulting in geometrical distortions [1]. Granular jamming is a novel fixturing technique used in the field of soft robotics [3]. We propose the use of granular jamming for developing a fixturing system which minimizes the structural deformation and surface damage prevalent in pin type fixturing