PhD student Devin Whipple with advisor P.J.A. Kenis, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The electrochemical reduction of CO2 using renewable electricity has several key benefits that can help address many of the intertwined problems in energy and climate change. In particular, it recycles CO2 as an energy carrier to […]
Series and Parallel Interleaved Inverters
Brian Johnson with advisor P.T. Krein Multiple inverters are coordinated to achieve system-level objectives and cost reductions. This procedure can be applied to highly distributed energy systems such as photovoltaics, fuel-cells, and batteries with the following benefits: a very-low distortion ac output current; reduced filtering component requirements; higher efficiency; and miniaturization. For both the series […]
Voltage-Offset Resistive Control for Photovoltaic Converters
Katherine A. Kim with adviser P.T. Krein Providing clean energy from renewable energy sources is crucial as the world’s average energy consumption increases and carbon emissions become a major concern. Photovoltaic systems harness the sun’s energy and play an increasingly important part in today’s energy market. Their energy generation must be effective and reliable under […]
In-Lab Research Grid Generator Control of Hydro Resource and Pumped Hydro: Long-Term Energy Storage Systems
Professors Ted Brekken and Annette von Jouanne, Oregon State University Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Wallace Energy Systems and Renewables Facility, Corvallis, Oregon Grainger graduate student funding contributed to improving wind energy integration through more effective coordination of generation resources and energy storage systems to buffer the variability of wind farm outputs. Work advanced on […]
A Parametric Uncertainty Analysis Method for Markov Reliability and Reward Models
Sairaj Dhople with advisor Alejandro Domínguez-García A common concern with Markov reliability and reward models is that model parameters, i.e., component failure and repair rates, are seldom perfectly known. This work proposes a numerical method based on the Taylor series expansion of the underlying Markov chain stationary distribution to propagate parametric uncertainty to reliability and […]
A Method to Study the Effect of Renewable Resource Variability on Power System Dynamics
Christine Chen with advisor A. Domínguez-García There exists a need for new tools to assess the impact of renewable resource integration on power system dynamic performance, due to the highly variable and unpredictable nature of renewable power generation. Our tool provides worst-case estimates on deviations in system variables of interest, such as machine speed and […]
Reliability Engineering for Smart Grid Applications: Assessing Threats to PMU Synchronization and Algorithms through GPS Spoofing
Xichen (Steve) Jiang with advisor A. Domínguez-García Reliability will be a pivotal issue as the present day power system updates and revamps to meet new Smart Grid standards. Integrating new technology will increase the complexity of the existing system and add additional sources of uncertainty. One technology receiving considerable attention is synchronized phasor measurement units […]
Distributed Algorithms for Voltage Control in Distribution Networks
Brett Robbins with advisor A. Domínguez-García Distribution systems are subject to several emerging technologies that have the potential to provide ancillary services to the grid. These devices, DERs, include renewable resources, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems or wind turbines, as well as energy storage devices, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and MW batteries. […]
Robust Implementation of Distributed Algorithms for Control of Distributed Energy Resources
Stanton T. Cady with advisor A. Domínguez-García This research focuses on hardware implementation of distributed control strategies to facilitate using distributed energy resources (DERs) to provide grid support services. Although individually these resources may be small relative to the power system, the large number present in many distribution networks suggests that under proper coordination and […]
Improving Microprocessor Power Delivery by Connecting Voltage Domains in Series
Pradeep Shenoy with advisor P.T. Krein Microprocessors need power at low voltages (around 1 V) and high currents (100 A or more at full load). Supply voltages will be even lower as transistor sizes get smaller. Dynamically lowering the voltage of a digital circuit is beneficial in many applications because it reduces power consumption. However, […]