Distributed Energy Resources Management using Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles as a Fuel-Shifting Demand Response Resource

In the smart grids context, distributed energy resources management plays an important role in the power systems’ operation. Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles should be important resources in the future distribution networks operation. Therefore, it is important to develop adequate methodologies to schedule the electric vehicles’ charge and discharge processes, avoiding network congestions and providing ancillary services. This paper proposes the participation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in fuel shifting demand response programs. Two services are proposed, namely the fuel shifting and the fuel discharging. The fuel shifting program consists in replacing the electric energy by fossil fuels in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles daily trips, and the fuel discharge program consists in use of their internal combustion engine to generate electricity injecting into the network. These programs are included in an energy resources management algorithm which integrates the management of other resources. The paper presents a case study considering a 37-bus distribution network with 25 distributed generators, 1908 consumers, and 2430 plug-in vehicles. Two scenarios are tested, namely a scenario with high photovoltaic generation, and a scenario without photovoltaic generation. A sensitivity analyses is performed in order to evaluate when each energy resource is required.

Desenvolvimento de um Módulo Habitacional “embrionário” “Plug-in” de habitação unifamiliar

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura

Creació d'un plug-in de Protégé per a podar ontologies

La creació d'una ontologia partint de zero és una feina llarga i feixuga que pot simplificar-se si, partint d'una ontologia més general, es poden podar les parts que no formen part del domini de context. Aquesta memòria té una doble vessant: d'un costat l'estudi de l'estat de l'art de les ontologies (història, aplicacions, línies de treball, etc) i de l'altra l'anàlisi i disseny d'un plug-in en java per a Protégé que implementi l'algorisme de poda.

PixFRET, an ImageJ plug-in for FRET calculation that can accommodate variations in spectral bleed-throughs.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) allows the user to investigate interactions between fluorescent partners. One crucial issue when calculating sensitized emission FRET is the correction for spectral bleed-throughs (SBTs), which requires to calculate the ratios between the intensities in the FRET and in the donor or acceptor settings, when only the donor or acceptor are present. Theoretically, SBT ratios should be constant. However, experimentally, these ratios can vary as a function of fluorophore intensity, and assuming constant values may hinder precise FRET calculation. One possible cause for such a variation is the use of a microscope set-up with different photomultipliers for the donor and FRET channels, a set-up allowing higher speed acquisitions on very dynamic fluorescent molecules in living cells. Herein, we show that the bias introduced by the differential response of the two PMTs can be circumvented by a simple modeling of the SBT ratios as a function of fluorophore intensity. Another important issue when performing FRET is the localization of FRET within the cell or a population of cells. We hence developed a freely available ImageJ plug-in, called PixFRET, that allows a simple and rapid determination of SBT parameters and the display of normalized FRET images. The usefulness of this modeling and of the plug-in are exemplified by the study of FRET in a system where two interacting nuclear receptors labeled with ECFP and EYFP are coexpressed in living cells.

FlexiHopper XC Plug-In -yksikkötesteri : testauspöydän jatkokehitys

Tämä insinöörityö tehtiin Nokia Siemens Networksille. Työssä tehtiin jatkokehitystä FlexiHopper XC -mikroaaltoradion Plug-In Unit -testerille. Työ aloitettiin tutustumalla FlexiHopper XC -mikroaaltoradioon, sen toimintaan ja sen sisäyksikön osien testaukseen. Tämän jälkeen mietittiin, kuinka testausta voisi parantaa. Sen pohjalta tehtiin lista kehitystä vaativista asioista. Työssä kerrotaan yleisesti mikroaaltoradioista ja niiden toiminnasta, jonka jälkeen siirrytään FlexiHopper XC -mikroaaltoradioon. Työssä kerrotaan FlexiHopper XC:n ulko- ja sisäyksikön rakenteesta ja siitä, kuinka ne toimivat yhdessä. Niiden toimintaa havainnollistetaan periaatteellisten esimerkkien avulla. Kun FlexiHopper XC:n toiminta ja rakenne on käsitelty, siirrytään sisäyksikön eli FlexiHub Noden Plug-In-yksiköiden testaukseen. Siinä kerrotaan testausjärjestelmästä, sen toiminnasta ja rakenteesta. Plug-In-yksiköiden testausosiossa kerrotaan joitain testattavista asioista. Kun testausjärjestelmä on käsitelty, käydään testausta läpi testaajan näkökulmasta, eli miten tuote laitetaan testeriin ja mitä tuotteeseen kytketään ennen testauksen aloittamista. Näiden asioiden saattelemana siirrytään testausjärjestelmän jatkokehitysosioon. Jatkokehitysosiossa kerrotaan testaukseen liittyvistä asioista, jotka vaativat parannusta. Osiossa kerrotaan jokaisen Plug-In-yksikön testaukseen liittyvistä ongelmista ja niille tehdyistä parannuksista. Lisäksi kerrotaan kaikkia yksiköitä koskevista ongelmista ja niille kehitetyistä ratkaisuista.

Plug-in de procesado visual (OpenCV) en OpenDomo OS

Este proyecto consiste en el diseño y desarrollo de un plug-in que permita usar el sistema de procesado de imagen OpenCV desde el sistema operativo OpenDomo OS.

Plug-in : educaci??n art??stica y nuevos contextos tecnol??gicos

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

A multi-agent system with a percolation approach to simulate the driving pattern of Plug-In ELectric Vehicles

A multi-agent system with a percolation approach to simulate the driving pattern of Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV), especially suited to simulate the PEVs behavior on any distribution systems, is presented. This tool intends to complement information about the driving patterns database on systems where that kind of information is not available. So, this paper aims to provide a framework that is able to work with any kind of technology and load generated of PEVs. The service zone is divided into several sub-zones, each subzone is considered as an independent agent identified with corresponding load level, and their relationships with the neighboring zones are represented as network probabilities. A percolation approach is used to characterize the autonomy of the battery of the PVEs to move through the city. The methodology is tested with data from a mid-size city real distribution system. The result shows the sub-area where the battery of PEVs will need to be recharge and gives the planners of distribution systems the necessary input for a medium to long term network planning in a smart grid environment. © 2012 IEEE.

An MILP model for the plug-in electric vehicle charging coordination problem in electrical distribution systems

A new mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to represent the plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) charging coordination problem in electrical distribution systems. The proposed model defines the optimal charging schedule for each division of the considered period of time that minimizes the total energy costs. Moreover, priority charging criteria is taken into account. The steady-state operation of the electrical distribution system, as well as the PEV batteries charging is mathematically represented; furthermore, constraints related to limits of voltage, current and power generation are included. The proposed mathematical model was applied in an electrical distribution system used in the specialized literature and the results show that the model can be used in the solution of the PEVs charging problem.

Left atrial appendage closure with amplatzer cardiac plug in atrial fibrillation: initial European experience

In most patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke, there is thrombotic embolization from the left atrial appendage (LAA). Percutaneous closure of the LAA is a novel alternative for the treatment of patients with AF at a high risk of stroke, in whom long-term anticoagulation therapy is not possible or not desired. This study details the initial experience with the Amplatzer Cardiac Plug (ACP) in humans.

Left atrial appendage closure with the Amplatzer cardiac plug in patients with atrial fibrillation

Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has emerged as an alternative to oral anticoagulation (OA) for prevention of thromboembolic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

Minimizing residential distribution system operating costs through intelligently scheduled plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charging

Rising fuel prices and environmental concerns are threatening the stability of current electrical grid systems. These factors are pushing the automobile industry towards more effcient, hybrid vehicles. Current trends show petroleum is being edged out in favor of electricity as the main vehicular motive force. The proposed methods create an optimized charging control schedule for all participating Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles in a distribution grid. The optimization will minimize daily operating costs, reduce system losses, and improve power quality. This requires participation from Vehicle-to-Grid capable vehicles, load forecasting, and Locational Marginal Pricing market predictions. Vehicles equipped with bidirectional chargers further improve the optimization results by lowering peak demand and improving power quality.

AGENT BASED, DISTRIBUTED CONTROL STRATEGIES AND OPTIMIZATION OF PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON SMART/MICROGRID ARCHITECTURES

This thesis will present strategies for the use of plug-in electric vehicles on smart and microgrids. MATLAB is used as the design tool for all models and simulations. First, a scenario will be explored using the dispatchable loads of electric vehicles to stabilize a microgrid with a high penetration of renewable power generation. Grid components for a microgrid with 50% photovoltaic solar production will be sized through an optimization routine to maintain storage system, load, and vehicle states over a 24-hour period. The findings of this portion are that the dispatchable loads can be used to guard against unpredictable losses in renewable generation output. Second, the use of distributed control strategies for the charging of electric vehicles utilizing an agent-based approach on a smart grid will be studied. The vehicles are regarded as additional loads to a primary forecasted load and use information transfer with the grid to make their charging decisions. Three lightweight control strategies and their effects on the power grid will be presented. The findings are that the charging behavior and peak loads on the grid can be reduced through the use of distributed control strategies.

Dual Active Bridge based Battery Charger for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Charging Current Containing Low Frequency Ripple

High power density is strongly preferable for the on-board battery charger of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Wide band gap devices, such as Gallium Nitride HEMTs are being explored to push to higher switching frequency and reduce passive component size. In this case, the bulk DC link capacitor of AC-DC Power Factor Correction (PFC) stage, which is usually necessary to store ripple power of two times the line frequency in a DC current charging system, becomes a major barrier on power density. If low frequency ripple is allowed in the battery, the DC link capacitance can be significantly reduced. This paper focuses on the operation of a battery charging system, which is comprised of one Full Bridge (FB) AC-DC stage and one Dual Active Bridge (DAB) DC-DC stage, with charging current containing low frequency ripple at two times line frequency, designated as sinusoidal charging. DAB operation under sinusoidal charging is investigated. Two types of control schemes are proposed and implemented in an experimental prototype. It is proved that closed loop current control is the better. Full system test including both FB AC-DC stage and DAB DC-DC stage verified the concept of sinusoidal charging, which may lead to potentially very high power density battery charger for PHEV.