Load Forecasting Based Distribution System Network Reconfiguration-A Distributed Data-Driven Approach

In this paper, a short-term load forecasting approach based network reconfiguration is proposed in a parallel manner. Specifically, a support vector regression (SVR) based short-term load forecasting approach is designed to provide an accurate load prediction and benefit the network reconfiguration. Because of the nonconvexity of the three-phase balanced optimal power flow, a second-order cone program (SOCP) based approach is used to relax the optimal power flow problem. Then, the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is used to compute the optimal power flow in distributed manner. Considering the limited number of the switches and the increasing computation capability, the proposed network reconfiguration is solved in a parallel way. The numerical results demonstrate the feasible and effectiveness of the proposed approach.Comment: 5 pages, preprint for Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers 201

Chance-Constrained Day-Ahead Hourly Scheduling in Distribution System Operation

This paper aims to propose a two-step approach for day-ahead hourly scheduling in a distribution system operation, which contains two operation costs, the operation cost at substation level and feeder level. In the first step, the objective is to minimize the electric power purchase from the day-ahead market with the stochastic optimization. The historical data of day-ahead hourly electric power consumption is used to provide the forecast results with the forecasting error, which is presented by a chance constraint and formulated into a deterministic form by Gaussian mixture model (GMM). In the second step, the objective is to minimize the system loss. Considering the nonconvexity of the three-phase balanced AC optimal power flow problem in distribution systems, the second-order cone program (SOCP) is used to relax the problem. Then, a distributed optimization approach is built based on the alternating direction method of multiplier (ADMM). The results shows that the validity and effectiveness method.Comment: 5 pages, preprint for Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers 201

A comparative study of the DSBGK and DVM methods for low-speed rarefied gas flows

Low-speed rarefied gas flow in a lid-driven cavity is chosen as a test case in order to assess the accuracy and efficiency of both the Direct Simulation Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (DSBGK) method and the Discrete Velocity Method (DVM) for solving the BGK kinetic equation. Various lid-speeds and a broad range of rarefaction levels, from slip to near free-molecular flows, are investigated. The DSBGK and DVM results are in satisfactory agreement for all the examined cases in 2D and 3D. As a statistical method, the stochastic noise of the DSBGK method is much smaller than that of the conventional Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, and is independent of the Mach number. To achieve the required accuracy, the DSBGK simulations need more CPU time than the DVM simulations, i.e. for the 2D cases, a factor of 2 to 15 times more for convergence, and about 50 to 80 times more overall, including the time-averaging process. However, for 3D cases, the third direction in the DVM velocity grid is needed, so the computational cost of DSBGK is now only 0.16 to 0.51 times that of the DVM for the convergence process, and 1.6 to 5.8 times that of the DVM overall. The efficiency of the DSBGK method can also be expected to be enhanced in large-scale 3D simulations, where the computational cost for time-averaging becomes negligible in comparison with the convergence process. The DSBGK simulations require much less memory, even at low Mach numbers, than the DVM simulations; in the test cases with the required accuracy, about 10 simulated molecules per cell in the DSBGK simulations are sufficient for an arbitrary Kn, while the DVM requires at least 4 × 24 and 4 × 24 × 12 velocity grids for the 2D and 3D cases, respectively, even at Kn=0.1. Finally, we discuss the ray effects in the DVM, which exist in flow problems with a discontinuous boundary and are caused by incompatibility of the velocity grid, the spatial grid, and the order of accuracy of the numerical scheme

The Generalized DCell Network Structures and Their Graph Properties

DCell~\cite{guo} has been proposed as a server centric network structure for data centers. DCell can support millions of servers with high network capacity and provide good fault tolerance by only using commodity mini-switches. In this paper, we show that DCell is only a special case of a more generalized DCell structure. We give the generalized DCell construction rule and several new DCell structures. We analyze the graph properties, including the closed form of number of servers, bisection width, diameter, and symmetry, of the generalized DCell structure. Furthermore, we show that the new structures are more symmetric, have much smaller diameter, and provide much better load-balancing than the original DCell by using shortest-path routing. We demonstrate the load-balancing property of the new structures by analysis and extensive simulations.Postprint (published version

Closed-form Expressions for Determining Approximate PMC Boundaries Around an Aperture in a Metal Cavity Wall

Modern electronic systems may use mixed RF/digital technologies to achieve various functionalities, which leads to various intra-system interference problems including the RF interference from noisy digital circuits to sensitive RF receivers, especially when the overall system is contained in a metal enclosure. A fast method based on a cavity formulation can be used to estimate the internal noise coupling mechanisms inside the enclosure. This method assumes that only the TMz0 mode exists inside the enclosure, i.e., the electric field along the z-direction is constant. The cavity formulation fails in the region adjacent to an aperture in an enclosure wall, since the aperture introduces higher order modes. The developed closed-form expressions compute the Ez-field variation along the z-direction. Thus, they can be used to estimate the breakpoint where the cavity method is no longer effective

A magnesium/amorphous silicon passivating contact for n-type crystalline silicon solar cells

Among the metals, magnesium has one of the lowest work functions, with a value of 3.7 eV. This makes it very suitable to form an electron-conductive cathode contact for silicon solar cells. We present here the experimental demonstration of an amorphous silicon/magnesium/aluminium (a-Si:H/Mg/Al) passivating contact for silicon solar cells. The conduction properties of a thermally evaporated Mg/Al contact structure on n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) are investigated, achieving a low resistivity Ohmic contact to moderately doped n-type c-Si (∼5 × 1015 cm−3) of ∼0.31 Ω cm2 and ∼0.22 Ω cm2 for samples with and without an amorphous silicon passivating interlayer, respectively. Application of the passivating cathode to the whole rear surface of n-type front junction c-Si solar cells leads to a power conversion efficiency of 19% in a proof-of-concept device. The low thermal budget of the cathode formation, its dopant-less nature, and the simplicity of the device structure enabled by the Mg/Al contact open up possibilities in designing and fabricating low-cost silicon solar cells.This work was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Some facilities at the Australian National Fabrication Facility at the ANU were used

Microglia Are Indispensable for Synaptic Plasticity in the Spinal Dorsal Horn and Chronic Pain

Spinal long-term potentiation (LTP) at C-fiber synapses is hypothesized to underlie chronic pain. However, a causal link between spinal LTP and chronic pain is still lacking. Here, we report that high-frequency stimulation (HFS; 100 Hz, 10 V) of the mouse sciatic nerve reliably induces spinal LTP without causing nerve injury. LTP-inducible stimulation triggers chronic pain lasting for more than 35 days and increases the number of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) terminals in the spinal dorsal horn. The behavioral and morphological changes can be prevented by blocking NMDA receptors, ablating spinal microglia, or conditionally deleting microglial brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). HFS-induced spinal LTP, microglial activation, and upregulation of BDNF are inhibited by antibodies against colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1). Together, our results show that microglial CSF1 and BDNF signaling are indispensable for spinal LTP and chronic pain. The microglia-dependent transition of synaptic potentiation to structural alterations in pain pathways may underlie pain chronicity

Aperture Modeling Using a Hybrid Method for RFI Analysis

A hybrid method is proposed for radio frequency interference (RFI) prediction of a metal enclosure with an aperture on the top wall. The structure is divided into several segments. While the fields in rectangular segments are described by cavity model, the segments with apertures are modeled by the commercial finite element solver (HFSS). Tangential field continuities along the common boundaries of different segments are enforced by the voltages and currents of boundary ports. Good agreement has been achieved between the hybrid method and full wave simulation