Jiangmeng Zhang with adviser A. Domínguez-García Demand response resources (DRRs), as fast-responsive energy resources, have become an important element for reliable and economic operation of power systems. Current power-system operations are challenged by the deep penetration of renewable energy resources. The demand-response program, under which consumers are able to adjust their consumption when a mismatch […]
An Active-Power Load-Sharing Controller for Frequency Regulation in Inverter-Based Microgrids
Madi Zholbaryssov with adviser A. Domínguez-García We propose a distributed frequency controller for lossy microgrids which combines the functions of the conventional primary droop and secondary controllers. One of its important features is that it enforces the absolute value of the voltage phase-angle differences over each electrical line to be less than some fixed value; […]
Dynamic Energy Management Needs in Energy-Efficient Buildings Imposed by Stochastic Solar Resources
Justin Hughes with adviser A. Domínguez-García We propose a bilayer control scheme for coordinating the response of distributed energy resources connected to electric power distribution networks to provide frequency regulation services. These resources could include plug-in electric vehicles, flexible loads, and microturbines. We work within a framework in which an aggregator participates in the real-time […]
Alternative Methods for Mitigating Natural Photovoltaic Variability: Dynamic HVAC Load Compensation and Curtailed PV Power
John (Alex) Magerko with adviser P. Krein Clouds, birds, leaves, snow, temperature, and other factors result in photovoltaic (PV) power output that can vary from hour to hour, minute to minute, or even on time scales less than one second. In order for significant PV resources to be compatible with the electric grid, their variability […]
Differential Processing for Improvements in Solar Array Energy Harvest
Jason Galtieri with adviser P. Krein Mismatch among photovoltaic (PV) cells accounts for a significant proportion of annual energy reduction in solar arrays. Sources of mismatch include cell degradation, poor factory binning, and non-uniform irradiance due to shading. Differential power processing (DPP) has the capability to mitigate all three of these sources by reducing the […]
Stochastic Approach to Asynchronous Differential Power Processing for True Maximum Power Point Tracking of Photovoltaic Sub-Modules
Felix Z. Hsiao with adviser R. Pilawa-Podgurski Photovoltaic (PV) systems require modules biased at correct voltages and currents to produce the maximum amount of power. This is achieved through a process called maximum power point tracking (MPPT). In our project, MPPT is implemented by power converters that perform differential power processing (DPP), as shown in […]
Quickest Line Detection and Identification Schemes
Xichen Jiang with adviser A. Domínguez-García Fast and reliable line outage detection for power system transmission line outages is crucial for maintaining reliability in the power grid. Current methods to detect these line outages rely on a system model obtained offline. This can be inaccurate due to bad historical or telemetry data. We propose a […]
Differential Power Processing for Voltage Regulation of Series-Stacked Processor Cores
Dipanjan Das with adviser P. Krein Power delivery to multi-core processors is challenging. Decreasing transistor sizes lead to decreasing operating voltages. Core numbers in each processor are increasing, while power requirements tend to remain the same. Thus, handling processor output impedance as supply voltages are reduced is becoming progressively more difficult. Significant improvement in energy […]
IC-Compatible Power Supply Circuitry for Gate Driver of Flying-Capacitor Multi-Level Converters
Zichao Ye with adviser R. Pilawa-Podgurski Flying-capacitor multi-level converters (FCMC) have received increased attention for medium- to low-power designs. Compared to conventional two-level converters, FCMCs have the advantages of lower device stress ratings, greatly reduced inductor values, increased effective ripple frequency and reduced dv/dt transients. Many examples show a higher conversion efficiency and higher power […]
GaN-based Flying-Capacitor Multilevel Boost Converter for High Step-Up Conversions
Zitao Liao with adviser R. Pilawa-Podgurski The GaN-based 7-level flying-capacitor multi-level boost converter is a good solution for achieving a high boost ratio with high power density and efficiency. A converter with one-to-ten step-up with a nominal output voltage of 1 kV and a target power level of 1 kW is built to prove the […]