Performance Enhancement of Automatic Generation Control by Developing a Detailed Load Frequency Control Model and an Adaptive Performance Index Criterion

The imbalance between electrical loads and power supplied by the system generators causes the frequency deviations in a power system. Maintaining the frequency close to its nominal value as well as in its allowed deviation range is the first objective of the automatic generation control (AGC). Nowadays, in interconnected power systems, several control areas are connected to each other by tie-lines and power is transferred between control areas based on a specific schedule. The second objective of automatic generation control is to keep the tie-lines power flow close to their secluded values.;An accurate and realistic load frequency control (LFC) model is very essential to have an effective and adaptive AGC strategy. The first objective of this thesis is to present the importance of considering communication delay in LFC model missing in most of the studies investigating AGC and its performance using different methods and optimization techniques. The second objective of this thesis is to present a comprehensive LFC model, which contains all of the physical constraints such as governor dead-band, generation rate and delay of communication links. The third objective is to evaluate different controllers and performance index criteria used in conventional AGC. Finally, the last objective is to introduce an adaptive performance index criterion cable of defining settling time and overshoot which cannot be applied by other performance index criteria.;Different optimization methods have been used to optimize the performance of AGC such as genetic algorithm, fuzzy logic and neural networks. Genetic algorithm has been used widely in LFC studies so it is chosen to be employed in this study to optimize the performance of controllers in the utilized AGC scheme. Integrator controller is the most common controller employed in LFC studies because of its design simplicity, however, in this thesis proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is employed to obtain the best performance.;This study shows that without a precise and detailed LFC model, results of different techniques or strategies used in AGC will not be accurate and practical even when they are derived by optimization methods. Moreover, it is shown that PID controller has the best performance in comparison with other controllers used in LFC studies when physical constraints are not considered in the LFC model. Furthermore, a robust GA based control system is designed considering all of physical constraints for a three-area power system and the simulation results show that it can track the load change and restore the frequency of all control areas to the nominal value effectively. Different performance index criteria are evaluated and results show that in specific cases they cannot be completely accurate or reliable to assess the performance of AGC schemes. Finally, an effective and adaptive performance index is introduced and simulation results validate its effectiveness and reliability

A new bi-objective model of the urban public transportation hub network design under uncertainty

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An Investigation of Areva Inc. Huge Financial Loss in the Aftermath of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Areva is a French multinational company, mainly known for its nuclear power activities. This Company is active in all parts of value chain of nuclear energy. After Fukushima disaster, this company faced a huge financial loss. This study investigates the reasons for the loss and how Areva could manage the loss better. Diversification, increasing the flexibility of its human resource management, not taking any unsafe bet after 2008 vulnerable global market, adopting more realistic and risk-averse approach for estimation of the cost of its nuclear projects are suggested as a preventive and corrective measures

An Investigation of Areva Inc. Huge Financial Loss in the Aftermath of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Areva is a French multinational company, mainly known for its nuclear power activities. This Company is active in all parts of value chain of nuclear energy. After Fukushima disaster, this company faced a huge financial loss. This study investigates the reasons for the loss and how Areva could manage the loss better. Diversification, increasing the flexibility of its human resource management, not taking any unsafe bet after 2008 vulnerable global market, adopting more realistic and risk-averse approach for estimation of the cost of its nuclear projects are suggested as a preventive and corrective measures

The effect of intracerebroventricular injection of CGRP on pain behavioral responses and monoamines concentrations in the periaqueductal gray area in rat

Objective(s): Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of CGRP on pain behavioral responses and on levels of monoamines in the periaqueductal gray area (PAG) during the formalin test in rats.Materials and Methods: Twenty-four male rats were studied in four groups (n=6). CGRP was injected into the left cerebral ventricle (1.5 nmol, 5 µl). After 20 min, formalin (2.5%) was subcutaneously injected into the right hind paw. Behavior nociceptive score was recorded up to 60 min. During the formalin test, the PAG was subjected to microdialysis and levels of norepinephrine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl-glycol (HMPG), dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole-acetic acid (HIAA) were measured by HPLC.Results: ICV injection of CGRP lead to a significant pain reduction in acute, middle and chronic phases of the formalin test. Dialysate concentrations of norepinephrine, HMPG, dopamine, DOPAC, serotonin and HIAA in the PGA area showed an increase in acute phase, middle phase and beginning of the chronic phase of the formalin test.Conclusion: CGRP significantly reduced pain by increased concentrations of monoamines and their metabolites in dialysates from PAG when injected ICV to rats

The comparison between the attitudes of employees and clients towards organizational intelligence (case study: Isfahan General Directorate of Sports and Youth)

This study was conducted in 2013, aiming tocompare the attitudes of employees and clientstowards organizational intelligence of IsfahanGeneral Directorate of Sport and Youth. The current studyis applied in terms of goal, descriptive in terms of natureand survey in terms of data collection. Based on Krejcie &Morgan table for sample size determination from a givenpopulation, 123 samples of employees were selected.Due to the comparison between the attitudes of employeesand clients, 123 clients were also selected throughsimple random method. The measurement tool in thisresearch was standard questionnaire of organizationalmultiple intelligence (Aghahosseini, 2010). To determinethe validity of it, the experts and professors of physicaleducation and sport sciences as well as management andplanning were consulted. Hereby, the content validity ofquestionnaire was confirmed. The reliability of it was alsocalculated through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient as 0.87.The descriptive and inferential statistical methods wereutilized for data analysis using SPSS software in error levelof 0.05. The results of study indicated no significant differencebetween the attitudes of employees and clientstowards organizational intelligence of Isfahan General Directorateof Sport and Youth (P=0.651). According to theemployees, the components of systematic intelligence,emotional intelligence, cooperative intelligence and educationalintelligence were upper than average level exceptoperational intelligence which was less than mean level(P=4.473). According to clients, all components in IsfahanGeneral Directorate of Sport and Youth were upperthan average level but there was no significant differencebetween the attitudes of employees and clients in any ofcomponents of organizational intelligence (P=0.05)

Integrated Transmission & Distribution System Modeling and Analysis: Need & Advantages

The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the need for and benefits of studying the steady state and dynamic response of power systems using three phase integrated transmission and distribution (T&D) system models (hereafter referred to as hybrid models). Modeling and simulation requirements for building and analyzing hybrid models are also discussed. Finally, results from steady state and dynamic simulations of a large hybrid model are presented to demonstrate insights that can be obtained from hybrid models which cannot be obtained from the study of transmission and distribution systems separately.Comment: 6 pages; This is the accepted version (not the IEEE-published version) of the paper that was accepted for presentation at the 2016 IEEE PES General Meeting, July 17-21, 2016. The IEEE published version of the paper can be obtained from ieeexplore using this url: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7741235&isnumber=7741056

Targeting the balance of T helper cell responses by curcumin in inflammatory and autoimmune states

CD4+ T helper (Th) cells are a crucial player in host defense but under certain conditions can contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Beside the Th1/Th2 subset, several additional Th subsets have been identified, each with a distinctive transcription factor, functional properties, signature cytokine profile, and possible role in the pathophysiology of diseases. These newer Th subsets include Th17, regulatory Th cells (Tregs), and more recently, Th9, Th22, and follicular T helper cells. Interestingly, imbalance of Th subsets contributes to the immunopathology of several disease states. Therefore, targeting the imbalance of Th subsets and their signature cytokine profiles by a safe, effective and inexpensive nutraceutical agent such as curcumin could be helpful to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. In this study different Th subsets and how the imbalance of these subsets could promote pathology of several diseases has been reviewed. Furthermore, the role of curcumin in this process will be discussed and the impact of targeting Th subsets by curcumin

On the role of applying groove pressing technique before friction stir processing of copper: microstructure and mechanical evaluation

The effect of prior constrained groove pressing on friction stir processing (FSP) of pure copper was investigated. The results illustrate the development of high strain and strength of FSP samples along with an increased strength base metal as a result of applying for a prior constrained groove pressing (CGP) pass. The influences of further FSP passes on the microstructures, and mechanical properties were also shown. The microstructural evaluation of the specimens indicated up to 10 times grain size reduction in FSP specimens as well as equiaxed microstructural morphology. Mechanical properties of the specimens were carried out through tensile and microhardness tests. It was demonstrated that the FSP could improve the strength and ductility of the specimens simultaneously through improved mechanical properties of the base metal resulting from prior CGP. The performed calculations show that values of dislocation density of the CGPed specimens experienced significant change after applying for FSP passes