Optimal controllers and configurations of 100% PV and energy Storage systems for a microgrid : the case study of a small town in Jordan

Renewable energy systems such as Photovoltaic (PV) have become one of the best options for supplying electricity at the distribution network level. This is mainly because the PV system is sustainable, environmentally friendly, and is a low-cost form of energy. The intermittent and unpredictable nature of renewable energy sources which leads to a mismatch between the power generation and load demand is the challenge to having 100% renewable power networks. Therefore, an Energy Storage System (ESS) can be a significant solution to overcome these challenges and improve the reliability of the network. In Jordan, the energy sector is facing a number of challenges due to the high energy-import dependency, high energy costs, and the inadequate electrification of rural areas. In this paper, the optimal integration of PV and ESS systems is designed and developed for a distribution network in Jordan. The economic and energy performance of the network and a proposed power network under different optimization algorithms and power network operation scenarios are investigated. Metaheuristic optimization algorithms, namely: Golden Ratio Optimization Method (GROM) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms, are employed to find the optimal configurations and integrated 100% PV and ESS for the microgrid

Advanced coordination method for overcurrent protection relays using new hybrid and dynamic tripping characteristics for microgrid

Nowadays, the Overcurrent (OC) and Earth Fault (EF) relays coordination problem is one of the most complex and challenging concerns of power protection and network operators due to the high and volatile generation capacity of renewable energy sources in the grid. In this article, a new and dynamic optimal coordination scheme based on a novel hybrid tripping characteristic has been designed and developed for Over Current Relays (OCRs). Considering the impact of renewable energy sources such as the photovoltaic (PV) system on fault characteristic, this work presents and verifies a novel dynamic and hybrid tripping to achieve minimum tripping time and improve the OCR and EF relays coordination performance in terms of security, sensitivity, and selectivity. The proposed dynamic and hybrid scheme will help the OCRs to cover the EF events, and it has been tested under different fault scenarios compared to the literature. The IEEE-9 and IEEE-33 bus systems are implemented in the ETAP package to validate the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid characteristics against traditionally well-established IEC characteristics. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed advance and dynamic protection approach which doesn’t require a communication infrastructure is investigated for a power network with PV plants under different grid operation modes and topology to provide more robustness protection system. The results, as presented using Industrial software (ETAP), showed that the novel dynamic and hybrid tripping scheme improved the speed of the total time tripping different fault scenarios and location by more than 50% and covers all EF events compared to traditional OCR schemes from the literature. The proposed novel dynamic approach has superior performance in detecting high-impedance faults and significantly reducing the tripping time on the IEEE 33 bus network by 47%

Powering up microgrids: a comprehensive review of innovative and intelligent protection approaches for enhanced reliability

Microgrid protection schemes play a vital role in ensuring the reliability and efficiency of power distribution in urban and rural areas, especially as renewable distributed energy resources are increasingly integrated. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing microgrid protection schemes, discussing their advantages and limitations and highlighting key challenges and opportunities for future research. As microgrid systems become increasingly common, the management of power flow in small-community networks equipped with intelligent electronic devices, non-linear loads, and multiple distributed generation sources becomes more complicated. In order to address these challenges, coordination of protective schemes is required to prevent overload and damage to equipment. Firstly, the study discusses microgrid definitions and functional categories, highlighting their benefits and drawbacks. An analysis of microgrid protection literature includes adaptive protection systems as intelligent methods to address coordination challenges. Secondly, this review classifies microgrid protection techniques as modified, new knowledge-based and conventional schemes and provides a systematic analysis of optimization approaches. The study also examines the essential problems associated with the coordination of protective relays within microgrids. Finally, examining the current state of microgrid protection to identify the key research directions and opportunities for future development in this rapidly advancing field. The findings of this comprehensive analysis highlight the importance of effective microgrid protection in ensuring a stable and sustainable energy future

Business analytics in industry 4.0: a systematic review

Recently, the term “Industry 4.0” has emerged to characterize several Information Technology and Communication (ICT) adoptions in production processes (e.g., Internet-of-Things, implementation of digital production support information technologies). Business Analytics is often used within the Industry 4.0, thus incorporating its data intelligence (e.g., statistical analysis, predictive modelling, optimization) expert system component. In this paper, we perform a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on the usage of Business Analytics within the Industry 4.0 concept, covering a selection of 169 papers obtained from six major scientific publication sources from 2010 to March 2020. The selected papers were first classified in three major types, namely, Practical Application, Reviews and Framework Proposal. Then, we analysed with more detail the practical application studies which were further divided into three main categories of the Gartner analytical maturity model, Descriptive Analytics, Predictive Analytics and Prescriptive Analytics. In particular, we characterized the distinct analytics studies in terms of the industry application and data context used, impact (in terms of their Technology Readiness Level) and selected data modelling method. Our SLR analysis provides a mapping of how data-based Industry 4.0 expert systems are currently used, disclosing also research gaps and future research opportunities.The work of P. Cortez was supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. We would like to thank to the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions

BJS commission on surgery and perioperative care post-COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020 and global surgical practice was compromised. This Commission aimed to document and reflect on the changes seen in the surgical environment during the pandemic, by reviewing colleagues' experiences and published evidence

BJS commission on surgery and perioperative care post-COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020 and global surgical practice was compromised. This Commission aimed to document and reflect on the changes seen in the surgical environment during the pandemic, by reviewing colleagues experiences and published evidence. Methods: In late 2020, BJS contacted colleagues across the global surgical community and asked them to describe how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had affected their practice. In addition to this, the Commission undertook a literature review on the impact of COVID-19 on surgery and perioperative care. A thematic analysis was performed to identify the issues most frequently encountered by the correspondents, as well as the solutions and ideas suggested to address them. Results: BJS received communications for this Commission from leading clinicians and academics across a variety of surgical specialties in every inhabited continent. The responses from all over the world provided insights into multiple facets of surgical practice from a governmental level to individual clinical practice and training. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered a variety of problems in healthcare systems, including negative impacts on surgical practice. Global surgical multidisciplinary teams are working collaboratively to address research questions about the future of surgery in the post-COVID-19 era. The COVID-19 pandemic is severely damaging surgical training. The establishment of a multidisciplinary ethics committee should be encouraged at all surgical oncology centres. Innovative leadership and collaboration is vital in the post-COVID-19 era