Application of meta-analytical probabilistic approach for reliability benefits reflective optimal transmission costing – the case of India

In the deregulated Power markets it is necessary to have a appropriate Transmission Pricing methodology that also takes into account “Congestion and Reliability”, in order to ensure an economically viable, equitable, and congestion free power transfer capability, with high reliability and security. This thesis presents results of research conducted on the development of a Decision Making Framework (DMF) of concepts and data analytic and modelling methods for the Reliability benefits Reflective Optimal “cost evaluation for the calculation of Transmission Cost” for composite power systems, using probabilistic methods. The methodology within the DMF devised and reported in this thesis, utilises a full AC Newton-Raphson load flow and a Monte-Carlo approach to determine, Reliability Indices which are then used for the proposed Meta-Analytical Probabilistic Approach (MAPA) for the evaluation and calculation of the Reliability benefit Reflective Optimal Transmission Cost (ROTC), of a transmission system. This DMF includes methods for transmission line embedded cost allocation among transmission transactions, accounting for line capacity-use as well as congestion costing that can be used for pricing using application of Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) as well as Bialek’s method to determine a methodology which consists of a series of methods and procedures as explained in detail in the thesis for the proposed MAPA for ROTC. The MAPA utilises the Bus Data, Generator Data, Line Data, Reliability Data and Customer Damage Function (CDF) Data for the evaluation of Congestion, Transmission and Reliability costing studies using proposed application of PTDF and other established/proven methods which are then compared, analysed and selected according to the area/state requirements and then integrated to develop ROTC. Case studies involving standard 7-Bus, IEEE 30-Bus and 146-Bus Indian utility test systems are conducted and reported throughout in the relevant sections of the dissertation. There are close correlation between results obtained through proposed application of PTDF method with the Bialek’s and different MW-Mile methods. The novel contributions of this research work are: firstly the application of PTDF method developed for determination of Transmission and Congestion costing, which are further compared with other proved methods. The viability of developed method is explained in the methodology, discussion and conclusion chapters. Secondly the development of comprehensive DMF which helps the decision makers to analyse and decide the selection of a costing approaches according to their requirements. As in the DMF all the costing approaches have been integrated to achieve ROTC. Thirdly the composite methodology for calculating ROTC has been formed into suits of algorithms and MATLAB programs for each part of the DMF, which are further described in the methodology section. Finally the dissertation concludes with suggestions for Future work.

Assessing the resilience of water supply systems in Oman

Water systems in the Sultanate of Oman are inevitably exposed to varied threats and hazards due to both natural and man-made hazards. Natural disasters, especially tropical cyclone Gonu in 2007, cause immense damage to water supply systems in Oman. At the same time water loss from leaks is a major operational problem. This research developed an integrated approach to identify and rank the risks to the water sources, transmission pipelines and distribution networks in Oman and suggests appropriate mitigation measures. The system resilience was evaluated and an emergency response plan for the water supplies developed. The methodology involved mining the data held by the water supply utility for risk and resilience determination and operational data to support calculations of non-revenue water. Risk factors were identified, ranked and scored at a stakeholder workshop and the operational information required was principally gathered from interviews. Finally, an emergency response plan was developed by evaluating the risk and resilience factors. The risk analysis and assessment used a Coarse Risk Analysis (CRA) approach and risk scores were generated using a simple risk matrix based on WHO recommendations. The likelihoods and consequences of a wide range of hazardous events were identified through a key workshop and subsequent questionnaires. The thesis proposes a method of translating the detailed risk evaluations into resilience scores through a methodology used in transportation networks. A water audit indicated that the percentage of NRW in Oman is greater than 35% which is similar to other Gulf countries but high internationally. The principal strategy for managing NRW used in the research was the AWWA water audit method which includes free to use software and was found to be easy to apply in Oman. The research showed that risks to the main desalination processes can be controlled but the risk due to feed water quality might remain high even after implementing mitigation measures because the intake is close to an oil port with a significant risk of oil contamination and algal blooms. The most severe risks to transmission mains were found to be associated with pipe rather than pump failure. The systems in Oman were found to be moderately resilient, the resilience of desalination plants reasonably high but the transmission mains and pumping stations are very vulnerable. The integrated strategy developed in this study has a wide applicability, particularly in the Gulf area, which may have risks from exceptional events and will be experiencing NRW. Other developing countries may also experience such risks but with different magnitudes and the risk evaluation tables could provide a useful format for further work.

A Framework for Assessing the Reliability of Wind Energy Conversion Systems

During the last decade, wind power generation has seen rapid development. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, achieving 20\% wind power penetration in the U.S. by 2030 will require: (i) enhancement of the transmission infrastructure, (ii) improvement of reliability and operability of wind systems and (iii) increased U.S. manufacturing capacity of wind generation equipment. This research will concentrate on improvement of reliability and operability of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs). The increased penetration of wind energy into the grid imposes new operating conditions on power systems. This change requires development of an adequate reliability framework. This thesis proposes a framework for assessing WECS reliability in the face of external disturbances, e.g., grid faults and internal component faults. The framework is illustrated using a detailed model of type C WECS - doubly fed induction generator with corresponding deterministic and random variables in a simplified grid model. Fault parameters and performance requirements essential to reliability measurements are included in the simulation. The proposed framework allows a quantitative analysis of WECS designs; analysis of WECS control schemes, e.g., fault ride-through mechanisms; discovery of key parameters that influence overall WECS reliability; and computation of WECS reliability with respect to different grid codes/performance requirements.

Transmission electron tomography: quality assessment and enhancement for three-dimensional imaging of nanostructures

Nanotechnology has revolutionised humanity's capability in building microscopic systems by manipulating materials on a molecular and atomic scale. Nan-osystems are becoming increasingly smaller and more complex from the chemical perspective which increases the demand for microscopic characterisation techniques. Among others, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an indispensable tool that is increasingly used to study the structures of nanosystems down to the molecular and atomic scale. However, despite the effectivity of this tool, it can only provide 2-dimensional projection (shadow) images of the 3D structure, leaving the 3-dimensional information hidden which can lead to incomplete or erroneous characterization. One very promising inspection method is Electron Tomography (ET), which is rapidly becoming an important tool to explore the 3D nano-world. ET provides (sub-)nanometer resolution in all three dimensions of the sample under investigation. However, the fidelity of the ET tomogram that is achieved by current ET reconstruction procedures remains a major challenge. This thesis addresses the assessment and advancement of electron tomographic methods to enable high-fidelity three-dimensional investigations. A quality assessment investigation was conducted to provide a quality quantitative analysis of the main established ET reconstruction algorithms and to study the influence of the experimental conditions on the quality of the reconstructed ET tomogram. Regular shaped nanoparticles were used as a ground-truth for this study. It is concluded that the fidelity of the post-reconstruction quantitative analysis and segmentation is limited, mainly by the fidelity of the reconstructed ET tomogram. This motivates the development of an improved tomographic reconstruction process. In this thesis, a novel ET method was proposed, named dictionary learning electron tomography (DLET). DLET is based on the recent mathematical theorem of compressed sensing (CS) which employs the sparsity of ET tomograms to enable accurate reconstruction from undersampled (S)TEM tilt series. DLET learns the sparsifying transform (dictionary) in an adaptive way and reconstructs the tomogram simultaneously from highly undersampled tilt series. In this method, the sparsity is applied on overlapping image patches favouring local structures. Furthermore, the dictionary is adapted to the specific tomogram instance, thereby favouring better sparsity and consequently higher quality reconstructions. The reconstruction algorithm is based on an alternating procedure that learns the sparsifying dictionary and employs it to remove artifacts and noise in one step, and then restores the tomogram data in the other step. Simulation and real ET experiments of several morphologies are performed with a variety of setups. Reconstruction results validate its efficiency in both noiseless and noisy cases and show that it yields an improved reconstruction quality with fast convergence. The proposed method enables the recovery of high-fidelity information without the need to worry about what sparsifying transform to select or whether the images used strictly follow the pre-conditions of a certain transform (e.g. strictly piecewise constant for Total Variation minimisation). This can also avoid artifacts that can be introduced by specific sparsifying transforms (e.g. the staircase artifacts the may result when using Total Variation minimisation). Moreover, this thesis shows how reliable elementally sensitive tomography using EELS is possible with the aid of both appropriate use of Dual electron energy loss spectroscopy (DualEELS) and the DLET compressed sensing algorithm to make the best use of the limited data volume and signal to noise inherent in core-loss electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) from nanoparticles of an industrially important material. Taken together, the results presented in this thesis demonstrates how high-fidelity ET reconstructions can be achieved using a compressed sensing approach.

Use of Products and Systems for Scientific and Technical College Education and Development for Industrial

Have been less than thirty years since a group of graduate students and computer scientists working on a federal contract performed the first successful connection between two computers located at remote sites. This group known as the NWG Network Working Group, comprised of highly creative geniuses who as soon as they began meeting started talking about things like intellectual graphics, cooperating processes, automation questions, email, and many other interesting possibilities 1 . In 1968, the group's task was to design NWG's first computer network, in October 1969, the first data exchange occurred and by the end of that year a network of four computers was in operation. Since the invention of the telephone in 1876 no other technology has revolutionized the field of communications over the computer network. The number of people who have made great contributions to the creation and development of the Internet are many, the computer network a much more complex than the phone is the result of people of many nationalities and cultures. However, remember that some years later in 19732 two computer scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerft created a more sophisticated communication program called Transmission Control Protocol - Internet Protocol TCP / IP which is still in force in the Internet today.

Energy Cooperation in Energy Harvesting Communication Systems

In energy harvesting communications, users transmit messages using energy harvested from nature. In such systems, transmission policies of the users need to be carefully designed according to the energy arrival profiles. When the energy management policies are optimized, the resulting performance of the system depends only on the energy arrival profiles. In this dissertation, we introduce and analyze the notion of energy cooperation in energy harvesting communications where users can share a portion of their harvested energy with the other users via wireless energy transfer. This energy cooperation enables us to control and optimize the energy arrivals at users to the extent possible. In the classical setting of cooperation, users help each other in the transmission of their data by exploiting the broadcast nature of wireless communications and the resulting overheard information. In contrast to the usual notion of cooperation, which is at the signal level, energy cooperation we introduce here is at the battery energy level. In a multi-user setting, energy may be abundant in one user in which case the loss incurred by transferring it to another user may be less than the gain it yields for the other user. It is this cooperation that we explore in this dissertation for several multi-user scenarios, where energy can be transferred from one user to another through a separate wireless energy transfer unit. We first consider the offline optimal energy management problem for several basic multi-user network structures with energy harvesting transmitters and one-way wireless energy transfer. In energy harvesting transmitters, energy arrivals in time impose energy causality constraints on the transmission policies of the users. In the presence of wireless energy transfer, energy causality constraints take a new form: energy can flow in time from the past to the future for each user, and from one user to the other at each time. This requires a careful joint management of energy flow in two separate dimensions, and different management policies are required depending on how users share the common wireless medium and interact over it. In this context, we analyze several basic multi-user energy harvesting network structures with wireless energy transfer. To capture the main trade-offs and insights that arise due to wireless energy transfer, we focus our attention on simple two- and three-user communication systems, such as the relay channel, multiple access channel and the two-way channel. Next, we focus on the delay minimization problem for networks. We consider a general network topology of energy harvesting and energy cooperating nodes. Each node harvests energy from nature and all nodes may share a portion of their harvested energies with neighboring nodes through energy cooperation. We consider the joint data routing and capacity assignment problem for this setting under fixed data and energy routing topologies. We determine the joint routing of energy and data in a general multi-user scenario with data and energy transfer. Next, we consider the cooperative energy harvesting diamond channel, where the source and two relays harvest energy from nature and the physical layer is modeled as a concatenation of a broadcast and a multiple access channel. Since the broadcast channel is degraded, one of the relays has the message of the other relay. Therefore, the multiple access channel is an extended multiple access channel with common data. We determine the optimum power and rate allocation policies of the users in order to maximize the end-to-end throughput of this system. Finally, we consider the two-user cooperative multiple access channel with energy harvesting users. The users cooperate at the physical layer (data cooperation) by establishing common messages through overheard signals and then cooperatively sending them. For this channel model, we investigate the effect of intermittent data arrivals to the users. We find the optimal offline transmit power and rate allocation policy that maximize the departure region. When the users can further cooperate at the battery level (energy cooperation), we find the jointly optimal offline transmit power and rate allocation policy together with the energy transfer policy that maximize the departure region.

The credit channel transmission of monetary policy in the European Union

This paper confirms the importance of the financial systems behaviour conditions to the credit channel of monetary policy in the entire European Union (EU). It uses panel fixed- effect estimations and quarterly data for 26 EU countries for the period from Q1 1999 to Q3 2006 in an adaptation of the Bernanke and Blinder (1988) model. The findings also reveal the high degree of foreign dependence and indebtedness of the EU banking institutions and their similar reactions to the macroeconomic and the monetary policy environments.

Identical Location Transmission Electron Microscopy Imaging of Site-Selective Pt Nanocatalysts: Electrochemical Activation and Surface Disordering

We have employed identical location transmission electron microscopy (IL-TEM) to study changes in the shape and morphology of faceted Pt nanoparticles as a result of electrochemical cycling; a procedure typically employed for activating platinum surfaces. We find that the shape and morphology of the as-prepared hexagonal nanoparticles are rapidly degraded as a result of potential cycling up to +1.3 V. As few as 25 potential cycles are sufficient to cause significant degradation, and after about 500–1000 cycles the particles are dramatically degraded. We also see clear evidence of particle migration during potential cycling. These finding suggest that great care must be exercised in the use and study of shaped Pt nanoparticles (and related systems) as electrocatlysts, especially for the oxygen reduction reaction where high positive potentials are typically employed.

The influence of promoters (Zr, La, Tb, Pr) on the catalytic performance of CuO-CeO2 systems for the preferential oxidation of CO in the presence of CO2 and H2O

CuO supported on CeO2 and Ce0.9X0.1O2, where X is Zr, La, Tb or Pr, were synthesized using nitrate precursors, giving rise ceria based materials with a small particle size which interact with CuO species generating a high amount of interfacial sites. The incorporation of cations to the ceria framework modifies the CeO2 lattice parameter, improving the redox behavior of the catalytic system. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, thermoprogrammed reduction with H2 (H2-TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalysts were tested in the preferential oxidation of CO under a H2-rich stream (CO-PROX), reaching conversion values higher than 95% between 115 and 140 °C and being the catalyst with 6 wt.% of Cu supported on Ce0.9Zr0.1O2 (sample 6CUZRCE) the most active catalyst. The influence of the presence of CO2 and H2O was also studied simulating a PROX unit, taking place a decrease of the catalytic activity due to the inhibitor effect both CO2 and H2O.

Ideological Complex Systems: Mathematical Theory

The goal of this article is to build an abstract mathematical theory rather than a computational one of the process of transmission of ideology. The basis of much of the argument is Patten's Environment Theory that characterizes a system with its double environment (input or stimulus and output or response) and the existing interactions among them. Ideological processes are semiotic processes, and if in Patten's theory, the two environments are physical, in this theory ideological processes are physical and semiotic, as are stimulus and response.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON THE TRANSMISSION OF THERMAL RADIATION

Atmospheric scattering plays a crucial rule in degrading the performance of electro optical imaging systems operating in the visible and infra-red spectral bands, and hence limits the quality of the acquired images, either through reduction of contrast or increase of image blur. The exact nature of light scattering by atmospheric media is highly complex and depends on the types, orientations, sizes and distributions of particles constituting these media, as well as wavelengths, polarization states and directions of the propagating radiation. Here we follow the common approach for solving imaging and propagation problems by treating the propagating light through atmospheric media as composed of two main components: a direct (unscattered), and a scattered component. In this work we developed a detailed model of the effects of absorption and scattering by haze and fog atmospheric aerosols on the optical radiation propagating from the object plane to an imaging system, based on the classical theory of EM scattering. This detailed model is then used to compute the average point spread function (PSF) of an imaging system which properly accounts for the effects of the diffraction, scattering, and the appropriate optical power level of both the direct and the scattered radiation arriving at the pupil of the imaging system. Also, the calculated PSF, properly weighted for the energy contributions of the direct and scattered components is used, in combination with a radiometric model, to estimate the average number of the direct and scattered photons detected at the sensor plane, which are then used to calculate the image spectrum signal to- noise ratio (SNR) in the visible near infra-red (NIR) and mid infra-red (MIR) spectral wavelength bands. Reconstruction of images degraded by atmospheric scattering and measurement noise is then performed, up to the limit imposed by the noise effective cutoff spatial frequency of the image spectrum SNR. Key results of this research are as follows: A mathematical model based on Mie scattering theory for how scattering from aerosols affects the overall point spread function (PSF) of an imaging system was developed, coded in MATLAB, and demonstrated. This model along with radiometric theory was used to predict the limiting resolution of an imaging system as a function of the optics, scattering environment, and measurement noise. Finally, image reconstruction algorithms were developed and demonstrated which mitigate the effects of scattering-induced blurring to within the limits imposed by noise.

IMPROVEMENTS IN SUSTAINABILITY OF GRAVITY-FED WATER SYSTEMS IN THE COMARCA NGÄBE-BUGLÉ, PANAMA: SPRING CAPTURES AND CIRCUIT RIDER MODEL

Gravity-flow aqueducts are used to bring clean water from mountain springs in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama, to the homes of the indigenous people who reside there. Spring captures enclose a spring to direct the flow of water into the transmission line. Seepage contact springs are most common, with water appearing above either hard basalt bedrock or a dense clay layer. Spring flows vary dramatically during wet and dry seasons, and discharge points of springs can shift, sometimes enough to impact the capture structure and its ability to properly collect all of the available water. Traditionally, spring captures are concrete boxes. The spring boxes observed by the author were dilapidated or out of alignment with the spring itself, only capturing part of the discharge. An improved design approach was developed that mimics the terrain surrounding the spring source to address these issues. Over the course of a year, three different spring sites were evaluated, and spring captures were designed and constructed based on the new approach. Spring flow data from each case study demonstrate increased flow capture in the improved structures. Rural water systems, including spring captures, can be sustainably maintained by the Circuit Rider model, a technical support system in which technical assistance is provided for the operation of the water systems. During 2012-2013, the author worked as a Circuit Rider and facilitated a water system improvement project while exploring methods of community empowerment to increase the capacity for system maintenance. Based on these experiences, recommendations are provided to expand the Circuit Rider model in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé under the Panamanian Ministry of Health’s Water and Sanitation Project (PASAP)

Environmental scanning electron microscope imaging of vesicle systems

The structural characteristics of liposomes have been widely investigated and there is certainly a strong understanding of their morphological characteristics. Imaging of these systems, using techniques such as freeze-fracturing methods, transmission electron microscopy, and cryo-electron imaging, has allowed us to appreciate their bilayer structures and factors which can influence this. However, there are few methods which all us to study these systems in their natural hydrated state; commonly the liposomes are visualized after drying, staining, and/or fixation of the vesicles. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) offers the ability to image a liposome in its hydrated state without the need for prior sample preparation. Within our studies we were the first to use ESEM to study liposomes and niosomes and we have been able to dynamically follow the hydration of lipid films and changes in liposome suspensions as water condenses on to, or evaporates from, the sample in real time. This provides insight into the resistance of liposomes to coalescence during dehydration, thereby providing an alternative assay of liposome formulation and stability.

Analysis of Transmission System Adequacy Considering the Constrained Fuzzy Power Flow

Power flow calculations are one of the most important tools for power system planning and operation. The need to account for uncertainties when performing power flow studies led, among others methods, to the development of the fuzzy power flow (FPF). This kind of models is especially interesting when a scarcity of information exists, which is a common situation in liberalized power systems (where generation and commercialization of electricity are market activities). In this framework, the symmetric/constrained fuzzy power flow (SFPF/CFPF) was proposed in order to avoid some of the problems of the original FPF model. The SFPF/CFPF models are suitable to quantify the adequacy of transmission network to satisfy “reasonable demands for the transmission of electricity” as defined, for instance, in the European Directive 2009/72/EC. In this work it is illustrated how the SFPF/CFPF may be used to evaluate the impact on the adequacy of a transmission system originated by specific investments on new network elements

Control and Supervision of Wind Energy Conversion Systems

This paper is about a PhD thesis and includes the study and analysis of the performance of an onshore wind energy conversion system. First, mathematical models of a variable speed wind turbine with pitch control are studied, followed by the study of different controller types such as integer-order controllers, fractional-order controllers, fuzzy logic controllers, adaptive controllers and predictive controllers and the study of a supervisor based on finite state machines is also studied. The controllers are included in the lower level of a hierarchical structure composed by two levels whose objective is to control the electric output power around the rated power. The supervisor included at the higher level is based on finite state machines whose objective is to analyze the operational states according to the wind speed. The studied mathematical models are integrated into computer simulations for the wind energy conversion system and the obtained numerical results allow for the performance assessment of the system connected to the electric grid. The wind energy conversion system is composed by a variable speed wind turbine, a mechanical transmission system described by a two mass drive train, a gearbox, a doubly fed induction generator rotor and by a two level converter.