abstract: In the recent past, due to regulatory hurdles and the inability to expand transmission systems, the bulk power system is increasingly being operated close to its limits. Among the various phenomenon encountered, static voltage stability has received increased attention among electric utilities. One approach to investigate static voltage stability is to run a set of power flow simulations and derive the voltage stability limit based on the analysis of power flow results. Power flow problems are formulated as a set of nonlinear algebraic equations usually solved by iterative methods. The most commonly used method is the Newton-Raphson method. However, at the static voltage stability limit, the Jacobian becomes singular. Hence, the power flow solution may fail to converge close to the true limit. To carefully examine the limitations of conventional power flow software packages in determining voltage stability limits, two lines of research are pursued in this study. The first line of the research is to investigate the capability of different power flow solution techniques, such as conventional power flow and non-iterative power flow techniques to obtain the voltage collapse point. The software packages used in this study include Newton-based methods contained in PSSE, PSLF, PSAT, PowerWorld, VSAT and a non-iterative technique known as the holomorphic embedding method (HEM). The second line is to investigate the impact of the available control options and solution parameter settings that can be utilized to obtain solutions closer to the voltage collapse point. Such as the starting point, generator reactive power limits, shunt device control modes, area interchange control, and other such parameters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2017

abstract: Recently, a novel non-iterative power flow (PF) method known as the Holomorphic Embedding Method (HEM) was applied to the power-flow problem. Its superiority over other traditional iterative methods such as Gauss-Seidel (GS), Newton-Raphson (NR), Fast Decoupled Load Flow (FDLF) and their variants is that it is theoretically guaranteed to find the operable solution, if one exists, and will unequivocally signal if no solution exists. However, while theoretical convergence is guaranteed by Stahl’s theorem, numerical convergence is not. Numerically, the HEM may require extended precision to converge, especially for heavily-loaded and ill-conditioned power system models. In light of the advantages and disadvantages of the HEM, this report focuses on three topics: 1. Exploring the effect of double and extended precision on the performance of HEM, 2. Investigating the performance of different embedding formulations of HEM, and 3. Estimating the saddle-node bifurcation point (SNBP) from HEM-based Thévenin-like networks using pseudo-measurements. The HEM algorithm consists of three distinct procedures that might accumulate roundoff error and cause precision loss during the calculations: the matrix equation solution calculation, the power series inversion calculation and the Padé approximant calculation. Numerical experiments have been performed to investigate which aspect of the HEM algorithm causes the most precision loss and needs extended precision. It is shown that extended precision must be used for the entire algorithm to improve numerical performance. A comparison of two common embedding formulations, a scalable formulation and a non-scalable formulation, is conducted and it is shown that these two formulations could have extremely different numerical properties on some power systems. The application of HEM to the SNBP estimation using local-measurements is explored. The maximum power transfer theorem (MPTT) obtained for nonlinear Thévenin-like networks is validated with high precision. Different numerical methods based on MPTT are investigated. Numerical results show that the MPTT method works reasonably well for weak buses in the system. The roots method, as an alternative, is also studied. It is shown to be less effective than the MPTT method but the roots of the Padé approximant can be used as a research tool for determining the effects of noisy measurements on the accuracy of SNBP prediction. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2018

abstract: With the power system being increasingly operated near its limits, there is an increasing need for a power-flow (PF) solution devoid of convergence issues. Traditional iterative methods are extremely initial-estimate dependent and not guaranteed to converge to the required solution. Holomorphic Embedding (HE) is a novel non-iterative procedure for solving the PF problem. While the theory behind a restricted version of the method is well rooted in complex analysis, holomorphic functions and algebraic curves, the practical implementation of the method requires going beyond the published details and involves numerical issues related to Taylor's series expansion, Padé approximants, convolution and solving linear matrix equations. The HE power flow was developed by a non-electrical engineer with language that is foreign to most engineers. One purpose of this document to describe the approach using electric-power engineering parlance and provide an understanding rooted in electric power concepts. This understanding of the methodology is gained by applying the approach to a two-bus dc PF problem and then gradually from moving from this simple two-bus dc PF problem to the general ac PF case. Software to implement the HE method was developed using MATLAB and numerical tests were carried out on small and medium sized systems to validate the approach. Implementation of different analytic continuation techniques is included and their relevance in applications such as evaluating the voltage solution and estimating the bifurcation point (BP) is discussed. The ability of the HE method to trace the PV curve of the system is identified. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2014

The instability modes and non-linear behavior of a cavitating flow have been studied based on the experimental data obtained from planar Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Three data-driven techniques, Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD), and Clustered-based Reduced Order Modeling (CROM), are applied to the snapshots of the fluctuating component of velocity to investigate instability modes of the cavitating flow. DMD and POD analysis yield multiple modes are corresponding to slow-varying drift flow, cloud-shedding, and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability for a fixed inlet flow condition. The high coherence measure obtained from the instabilities suggests a transfer of energy from the largest scales, fluctuating mean flow, to the smaller scales such as cloud cavitation and Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability. It is demonstrated that the POD decorrelation of length scales yields inherently quasi-periodic time dynamics, e.g., incommensurate frequencies. Moreover, the eigenvalue obtained from DMD revealed multiple harmonic with different decay rates associated with the cloud cavitation. The above-mentioned intermittent transition between distinct cloud shedding regimes is investigated via Clustered-based Reduced Order Modeling (CROM). Four aperiodic shedding regimes are identified. 68% of the time, triplets of vortices are formed, while 28% of the time, a pair of vortices are formed in the near wake of the throat. Dominant mechanisms governing the momentum transport and the turbulence kinetic energy production, destruction, and redistribution in distinct regions of the flow field have been identified using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs). The preceding data-driven techniques and in-depth analysis of the results facilitated modeling of the cavitation inception and break-up. Accordingly, a phase transition field model is developed using the ultra-fast Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) and vapor void fraction spatial and temporal data. The data acquisition is implemented in a Venturi-type test section. The approximate Reynolds number based upon the throat height is 10,000, and the approximate cavitation number is 1.95. The non-equilibrium cavitation model assumes that the phase production and destruction are correlated to the static pressure field, pressure spatial derivatives, void fraction, and divergence of the velocity field. Finally, the dependence of the model on the empirical constants has been investigated. / Doctor of Philosophy / A cavitation bubble occurs where the pressure field is below the saturation pressure of the liquid. Accumulation of the cavitation bubble forms a cavitating flow. This phenomenon is observed in pumps, propulsion systems, internal combustion engines, and rocket engines. Identifying the mechanisms leading to cavitation-induced damages is imperative in the design of the devices. In this regard, investigation of the cavitation bubble inception, deformation, collapse, and intermittent regime change is mandatory in learning the primary mechanisms of the stresses imposed on the device. Experiments and high-fidelity numerical and analytical methods can be employed to shed light on flow physics. The current study adopted joint experimental methods, data analysis techniques, and computational approaches to scrutinize the unsteady cavitating flow underlying physics as it occurs past the throat of a Venturi-type profile. Different mechanisms of instabilities are identified by applying the data-driven techniques to the raw images of the cavitating flow. The path of the transitions between physically different instabilities mechanisms is examined. The local dominant balance between stress terms in the conservation of momentum equation is identified, and the stress terms roles in cavitating flow instabilities and advective acceleration are determined. A new cavitation model is developed and validated against the experimental results. The new model improves the prediction of the void fraction in different regions of the flow field, making it feasible to simulate different regimes of cavitating flow. Finally, the dominant mechanism governing the liquid-vapor transition and the transport of the void fraction is described.

The applications of membranes are increasing rapidly in various fields of engineering and science. The geometric, material, force and contact non-linearities complicate their analysis, which increases the demand for computationally efficient methods and interpretation of counter-intuitive behaviours. The first part of the present work studies the free and constrained inflation of circular and cylindrical membranes. The membranes are assumed to be in contact with a soft substrate, modelled as a linear spring distribution.Adhesive and frictionless contact conditions are considered during inflation,while only adhesive contact conditions are considered during deflation. For a circular membrane, peeling of the membrane during deflation is studied, and a numerical formulation of the energy release rate is proposed. The second part of the thesis discusses the instabilities observed for fluid containing cylindrical membranes. Limit points and bifurcation points are observed on primary equilibrium branches. The secondary branches emerge from bifurcation points, with their directions determined by eigenvectors corresponding to zero eigenvalues at the bifurcation point. Symmetry has major implications on stability analysis of the structures, and the relationship between eigenvalue analysis and symmetry is highlighted in this part of the thesis. In the third part, wrinkling in the pressurized membranes is investigated,and robustness of the modified membrane theory and tension field theory is examined. The effect of boundary conditions, thickness variations, and inflating media on the wrinkling is investigated. It is observed that, with a relaxed strain energy formulation, the obtained equilibrium solutions are unstable due to the occurrence of pressure induced instabilities. A detailed analysis of pressure induced instabilities in the wrinkled membranes is described in the thesis. / <p>QC 20160518</p>

abstract: The holomorphic embedding method (HEM) applied to the power-flow problem (HEPF) has been used in the past to obtain the voltages and flows for power systems. The incentives for using this method over the traditional Newton-Raphson based nu-merical methods lie in the claim that the method is theoretically guaranteed to converge to the operable solution, if one exists. In this report, HEPF will be used for two power system analysis purposes: a. Estimating the saddle-node bifurcation point (SNBP) of a system b. Developing reduced-order network equivalents for distribution systems. Typically, the continuation power flow (CPF) is used to estimate the SNBP of a system, which involves solving multiple power-flow problems. One of the advantages of HEPF is that the solution is obtained as an analytical expression of the embedding parameter, and using this property, three of the proposed HEPF-based methods can es-timate the SNBP of a given power system without solving multiple power-flow prob-lems (if generator VAr limits are ignored). If VAr limits are considered, the mathemat-ical representation of the power-flow problem changes and thus an iterative process would have to be performed in order to estimate the SNBP of the system. This would typically still require fewer power-flow problems to be solved than CPF in order to estimate the SNBP. Another proposed application is to develop reduced order network equivalents for radial distribution networks that retain the nonlinearities of the eliminated portion of the network and hence remain more accurate than traditional Ward-type reductions (which linearize about the given operating point) when the operating condition changes. Different ways of accelerating the convergence of the power series obtained as a part of HEPF, are explored and it is shown that the eta method is the most efficient of all methods tested. The local-measurement-based methods of estimating the SNBP are studied. Non-linear Thévenin-like networks as well as multi-bus networks are built using model data to estimate the SNBP and it is shown that the structure of these networks can be made arbitrary by appropriately modifying the nonlinear current injections, which can sim-plify the process of building such networks from measurements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2017