In this thesis anchoring systems for marine renewable energy devices are examined for an area of interest off the coast of Southeast Florida that contains both ocean current and thermal resources for future energy extraction. Bottom types observed during previous regional benthic surveys are compiled and anchor performance of each potential anchor type for the observed bottom types is compared. A baseline range of environmental conditions is created by combining local current measurements and offshore industry standards. Numerical simulations of single point moored marine hydrokinetic devices are created and used to extract anchor loading for two potential deployment locations, multiple mooring scopes, and turbine rotor diameters up to 50 m. This anchor loading data is used for preliminary anchor sizing of deadweight and driven plate anchors on both cohesionless and cohesive soils. Finally, the capabilities of drag embedment and pile anchors relevant to marine renewable energy devices are discussed. / by Michael Grant Seibert. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Simulations have been carried out to validate a hydrokinetic energy system non-dimensional scaling procedure. The requirements for a testing facility intended to test such devices will be determined from the results of the simulations. There are 6 simulations containing 3 prototype systems and 2 possible model facility depths to give a range of results. The first 4 tests are conducted using a varying current profile, while the last 2 tests use a constant current profile of 1.6 m/s. The 3 prototype systems include a: 6 m spherical buoy, a 12 m spherical buoy and a turbine component system. The mooring line used for the simulations is a 6x19 Wire Rope Wire Core of diameter 100 mm and length 1000 m. The simulations are implemented using Orcaflex to obtain the dynamic behavior of the prototype and scaled system. / by William Valentine. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Esta dissertação propõe um modelo de caracterização de recursos energéticos do lado da demanda que pretende abranger todos os tipos de ações e medidas referentes ao gerenciamento da demanda e à conservação energética, avaliando-as de forma holística, dentro de quatro dimensões: técnico-econômica, ambiental, social e política. Os recursos considerados na composição do modelo são submetidos às fases de Inventário de Recursos Energéticos do Lado da Demanda, Caracterização das Dimensões e Atributos de Avaliação de Recursos, Formulação dos Potenciais Energéticos e Aplicação do Modelo em Caso Piloto. O Inventário de Recursos Energéticos do Lado da Demanda pretende levantar, descrever e segmentar todas as alternativas energéticas de GLD e setores de consumo energético. A Caracterização da Avaliação de Recursos delimita as esferas de análise de recursos e a caracterização de seus atributos quanto a custos e benefícios provenientes de seu emprego. A Formulação dos Potenciais Energéticos define seu cálculo a partir de sua amplitude e restrições gerais de aplicação. O modelo é aplicado em um estudo piloto, na Região Administrativa de Araçatuba, por meio de um exercício de formulação do PIR, considerando a utilização de ferramentas de Avaliação dos Custos Completos, Cálculo de Potenciais Energéticos e Elaboração de Cenários de Projeção do Consumo Energético para um horizonte de tempo determinado. / This work presents a model for the characterization and assessment of demand side energy resources, which intends to comprehend every kind of action or measure related to demand side management and energy conservation, evaluated thouroughly into four dimensions: technical-economical, environmental, social and political. The resources included in the composition of the model are subjected to the stages of Inventary of Demand Side Resources, Characterization of Dimensions and Attributes of the Resources Assessment, Formulation of Energy Potentials and Model Application on a Real Case Study. The Inventary of Demand Side Resources intends to enlist, describe and segment all demand side management energy alternatives and their application in different economy sectors. The Characterization of the Resources Assessment defines the spheres of the assessment of resources and the characterization of its attributes as for costs and benefits resulting from their utilization. The Formulation of Energy Potentials defines their accounting based on their range and general application restrictions. The Model is applied in a case study, in the Administrative Region of Araçatuba, through an exercise of IRP formulation, regarding the utilization of Full Cost Accounting, Energy Potentials Accounting and Scenarios of Energy Consumption for a determined horizon.

O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de identificar fatores intervenientes na adoção de energias limpas nos principais setores industriais do Estado de São Paulo. Para tanto, apresenta a fundamentação teórica sobre os diversos temas pertinentes a pesquisa, tais como: o atual cenário energético brasileiro e o desenvolvimento sustentável, bem como o estudo dos métodos aplicados. A análise dos dados realizada teve caráter qualitativo e quantitativo, por meio, respectivamente, da Técnica do Incidente Crítico e da Análise Conjunta. A aplicação da Técnica do Incidente Crítico forneceu os atributos que as empresas consideram importantes no processo de escolha. Já a Análise Conjunta, técnica estatística multivariada de análise de dados, foi utilizada para determinar a utilidade e importância relativa dos atributos relevantes na escolha das empresas. Com os resultados da pesquisa acredita-se que as empresas usuárias e não usuárias de energias limpas poderão ter conhecimentos sobre a opinião de seus pares com relação às vantagens e desvantagens do uso destes energéticos nos processos produtivos, assim como ao governo estabelecer estratégias adequadas para orientar e estimular a adoção de energias que promovem baixo impacto ao meio ambiente. / The scope of the present work is to identify intervening factors in the adoption of clean energy resources in the main industrial sectors of the São Paulo state. In order to perform such evaluation, a theoretical reasoning on the various relevant issues related to the research shall be displayed, such as: the current brazilian energy context and sustainable development, as well as the study of applied methods. The data analysis was realized guided on a qualitative and quantitative basis, by means, respectively, of the Critical Incident Technique and the Conjoint Analysis. The application of the Critical Incident Technique has imputed capabilities that companies regard as pivotal in the selection process. The Conjoint Analysis, on its hand, multivariate statistics technique on data analysis, was used in order to determine the utility and relative importance of the capabilities relevant to the companies\' selection. Based on the results inferred from the research it may be conjectured that companies that adopt and do not adopt clean energy resources may acquire acknowledge about the opinion of its couples in what it concerns the advantages and disadvantages of the use of these energetic in these productive processes, as well the government may set to establish adequate strategies in order to instruct and encourage the adoption of energy resources that promote a lesser impact to the environment.

Este documento apresenta uma metodologia analítica adaptativa para localização de faltas baseada na estimativa da impedância para sistemas de distribuição ativos. A metodologia proposta combina a informação fornecida por dispositivos eletrônicos inteligentes alocados na subestação principal e nos terminais de cada unidade de Recurso Energético Distribuído (do inglês Distributed Energy Resources - DER), o conhecimento da topologia da rede e os seus parâmetros para estimar a localização da falta. A característica adaptativa é dada pelo uso de modelos elétricos lineares para considerar o efeito das DER conectadas à rede, quando a informação fornecida pelos Dispositivos Eletrônicos Inteligentes (do inglês Intelligent Electronic Devices - IED) não é disponível. Adicionalmente, uma estratégia baseada na técnica Ladder é desenvolvida para estimar a contribuição de corrente desde as DER até o ponto de falta. Esta estratégia permite considerar vários geradores conectados e seus diferentes modos de operação. A metodologia proposta foi validada com o sistema IEEE 34 barras. Este sistema foi modelado no Alternative Transients Program (ATP) e modificado pela inserção de várias unidades DER. A metodologia proposta foi validada em vários cenários. Estes cenários avaliam o efeito da distância até a falta, resistência da falta, incerteza na carga, nível de penetração de DER, número de geradores conectados e erros nas medidas ou na estimação dos parâmetros das DER quando seus modelos forem utilizados. Para estas considerações, o desempenho da formulação proposta é satisfatório, apresentando erros menores do que 3%. / This document presents an adaptive analytical impedance-based fault location methodology for active distribution systems. The proposal combines information provided by Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) located in the substation, each Distributed Energy Resources units terminal, the knowledge of the network topology as well as its parameters to estimate the fault location. Its adaptive feature is given by the use of linear analytical equivalent models to consider of DER effect in case the information provided by a local IED is not available. Additionally, a ladder-based technique is proposed to estimate the current contribution from of DER to the fault point. This process allows considering several DER connected and their different operation modes. The proposed methodology is validated on the IEEE 34-node test feeder. This system is modeled on ATP/EMTP and modified with the insertion of several DER units. The methodology is validated by considering several scenarios. These scenarios evaluate the effect of fault distance, fault resistance, load variation, DER penetration level, numbers of DERs connected and errors in the DER parameters. For these considerations, the proposed methodology performance is satisfactory, presenting fault location errors below 3%.

Os reservatórios são utilizados pelo homem há milhares de anos e são fundamentais em países que apresentam uma matriz energética predominantemente hidrelétrica como o Brasil. Desta forma, há uma preocupação relacionada à vida útil de um reservatório que é influenciada diretamente pelo transporte e deposição de sedimentos. No entanto, a maioria dos reservatórios nacionais não apresenta atualmente estudos hidrossedimentológicos consistentes para auxiliar seus gestores no planejamento e gerenciamento dos mesmos. Uma das principais justificativas apresentadas para a ausência destes estudos se refere à dificuldade na aplicação de metodologias relacionadas à sedimentologia nos recursos hídricos. Neste contexto, a tese apresenta o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta computacional (NH Sediment) de livre acesso que poderá auxiliar os gestores de reservatórios no monitoramento e análise dos parâmetros hidrossedimentológicos. A ferramenta computacional é fundamentada em metodologias consolidadas na literatura técnica e acadêmica. Ela permite que o usuário estime parâmetros hidrossedimentólogicos, como a descarga sólida total, o peso específico aparente, a eficiência de retenção, além do volume assoreado e do tempo de vida útil de reservatórios. A ferramenta foi aplicada no Reservatório da Pequena Central Hidrelétrica de Mogi-Guaçu (SP) e foi possível observar que os resultados estavam condizentes com os parâmetros obtidos no levantamento de campo (dados primários) e com os dados fornecidos pela empresa que administra a PCH. Desse modo, a ferramenta computacional é mais uma alternativa para auxiliar o acompanhamento do processo de assoreamento em reservatórios, principalmente das pequenas centrais hidrelétricas onde este problema tende a ser maior. Além disso, ela também poderá ajudar na escolha das melhores medidas para prevenção ou minimização de parte dos problemas causados pelos sedimentos nos reservatórios. / Reservoirs have been used by people for thousands of years and are essential in countries with a predominantly hydroelectric energy matrix, such as Brazil. Although, there is a concern about the life of a reservoir, which is directly influenced by transport and deposition of sediments, most national reservoirs have not conducted consistent hydrosedimentological studies to assist their managers in their planning and managing. One of the main justifications for such a lack is the difficulty of application of methodologies related to sedimentology in water resources. This thesis addresses the development of a computational tool (NH Sediment) of free access that can assist reservoir managers in monitoring and analyzing hydrosedimentological parameters. The tool is based on methodologies consolidated in the technical and academic literature and enables users to estimate hydrosedimentological parameters, such as total solid discharge, apparent specific weight, retention efficiency, silting volume and lifetime of reservoirs. It was applied to the reservoir of the Small Hydropower Plant (SHP) of Mogi-Guaçu (SP) and the results were consistent with the parameters obtained in a field survey conducted and data provided by the company that manages SHP. It has proven an alternative to help users in monitoring the silting process in reservoirs, especially in small hydropower plants, where this problem tends to be more serious. It can also be employed for the choice of best measures for the prevention or minimization of problems caused by sediments in reservoirs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Behrooz Mirafzal / Voltage source inverters (VSIs) are an essential interface for grid integration of renewable energy resources. Grid-tied VSIs are employed in power grids to integrate distributed generation units, e.g. photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines and energy storage units, to the utility and extract the maximum energy from the DG units in an efficient manner. However, the stability of VSIs and by extension the entire DG system can be degraded under abnormal grid conditions. In this dissertation, new control and switching techniques for stability and power quality improvement of grid-tied VSIs under abnormal grid conditions are presented. For grids with a low inertia and a low short-circuit ratio, commonly referred to as weak grids, grid connection may make VSIs susceptible to voltage distortion and instability. In this dissertation, through root locus analysis of a detailed state-space model, the design of several circuit and control parameters of the grid-tied VSI are evaluated for improving stability in weak grids. It is shown that grid-side filter inductances can be increased for stable operation of VSIs in weak grids. Accordingly, a virtual inductance emulating the effect of an increased inductance in the grid-side filter is developed in this dissertation, which enables stable operation of VSIs in weak grids without the tradeoffs, i.e. additional voltage drop, increased cost and larger size, associated with a larger inductor. The virtual inductance scheme is realized through the injection of a feedforward current element in the VSI controller through a gain component. The measured grid currents, which are sensed for regular VSI controller operation, are employed as the feedforward component eliminating the need for any additional sensors for the utilization of this control scheme. Furthermore, a direct model reference adaptive control (MRAC) scheme is employed in this dissertation to tune the virtual inductance gain block according to a stable reference model for varying grid conditions. The use of direct MRAC scheme allows tuning of the virtual inductance block without the need for a plant parameter estimation stage. The virtual inductance scheme enables stable operation of VSIs in weak grids without system parameter redesign, thereby maintaining the steady-state performance of the system. The efficacy of the virtual inductance feedforward scheme is verified through hardware tests carried out on a three-phase grid-tied experimental setup. Along with extracting energy from the DG sources, grid-tied VSIs are capable of providing various ancillary services to the utility under abnormal conditions. However, providing ancillary services could drive the inverter voltages beyond the linear modulation region resulting in grid current distortions, which could violate the requirements for grid integration of DGs. An atypical pulse width modulation (PWM) technique is proposed in this dissertation, which maximizes the dc-bus utilization of VSIs, which in turn enables the VSIs to supply the maximum extracted power from the DG units to the grid when providing ancillary services while operating in the linear modulation region. The switching scheme is realized by injecting common mode components in the PWM references, computed based on instantaneous reference magnitudes. The proposed scheme is suitable when providing both symmetrical and asymmetrical ancillary services. In this dissertation, negative-sequence compensation and harmonic compensation are employed as instances of symmetrical and asymmetrical ancillary services. The proposed scheme can be integrated with any control scheme and carrier-based PWM combinations. The efficacy of the proposed atypical PWM scheme is verified through both simulation and hardware tests.

abstract: Nowadays, the widespread introduction of distributed generators (DGs) brings great challenges to the design, planning, and reliable operation of the power system. Therefore, assessing the capability of a distribution network to accommodate renewable power generations is urgent and necessary. In this respect, the concept of hosting capacity (HC) is generally accepted by engineers to evaluate the reliability and sustainability of the system with high penetration of DGs. For HC calculation, existing research provides simulation-based methods which are not able to find global optimal. Others use OPF (optimal power flow) based methods where too many constraints prevent them from obtaining the solution exactly. They also can not get global optimal solution. Due to this situation, I proposed a new methodology to overcome the shortcomings. First, I start with an optimization problem formulation and provide a flexible objective function to satisfy different requirements. Power flow equations are the basic rule and I transfer them from the commonly used polar coordinate to the rectangular coordinate. Due to the operation criteria, several constraints are incrementally added. I aim to preserve convexity as much as possible so that I can obtain optimal solution. Second, I provide the geometric view of the convex problem model. The process to find global optimal can be visualized clearly. Then, I implement segmental optimization tool to speed up the computation. A large network is able to be divided into segments and calculated in parallel computing where the results stay the same. Finally, the robustness of my methodology is demonstrated by doing extensive simulations regarding IEEE distribution networks (e.g. 8-bus, 16-bus, 32-bus, 64-bus, 128-bus). Thus, it shows that the proposed method is verified to calculate accurate hosting capacity and ensure to get global optimal solution. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2018

One of the biggest threats to the power systems as critical infrastructures is large-scale blackouts resulting from cascading failures (CF) in the grid. The ongoing shift in energy portfolio due to ever-increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) may drive the electric grid closer to its operational limits and introduce a large amount of uncertainty coming from their stochastic nature. One worrisome change is the increase in CFs. The CF simulation models in the literature do not allow consideration of RES penetration in studying the grid vulnerability. In this dissertation, we have developed tools and models to evaluate the impact of RE penetration on grid vulnerability to CF. We modeled uncertainty injected from different sources by analyzing actual high-resolution data from North American utilities. Next, we proposed two CF simulation models based on simplified DC power flow and full AC power flow to investigate system behavior under different operating conditions. Simulations show a dramatic improvement in the line flow uncertainty estimation based on the proposed model compared to the simplified DC OPF model. Furthermore, realistic assumptions on the integration of RE resources have been made to enhance our simulation technique. The proposed model is benchmarked against the historical blackout data and widely used models in the literature showing similar statistical patterns of blackout size.

Distributed energy resources (DE) with power electronics interfaces and logic control using local measurements are capable of providing reactive power related to ancillary system services. In particular, local voltage regulation has drawn much attention in regards to power system reliability and voltage stability, especially from past major cascading outages. This dissertation addresses the challenges of controlling the DEs to regulate the local voltage in distribution systems. First, an adaptive voltage control method has been proposed to dynamically modify the control parameters of a single DE to respond to system changes such that the ideal response can be achieved. Theoretical analysis shows that a corresponding formulation of the dynamic control parameters exists; hence, the adaptive control method is theoretically solid. Also, the field experiment test results at the Distributed Energy Communications and Controls (DECC) Laboratory in single DE regulation case confirm the effectiveness of this method. Then, control methods have been discussed in the case of multiple DEs regulating voltages considering the availability of communications among all the DEs. When communications are readily available, a method is proposed to directly calculate the needed adaptive change of the DE control parameters in order to achieve the ideal response. When there is no communication available, an approach to adaptively and incrementally adjust the control parameters based on the local voltage changes is proposed. Since the impact from other DEs is implicitly considered in this approach, multiple DEs can collectively regulate voltages closely following the ideal response curve. Simulation results show that each method, with or without communications, can satisfy the fast response requirement for operational use without causing oscillation, inefficiency or system equipment interference, although the case with communication can perform even faster and more accurate. Since the proposed adaptive voltage regulation method in the case of multiple DEs without communication, has a high tolerance to real-time data shortage and can still provide good enough performance, it is more suitable for broad utility applications. The approach of multiple DEs with communication can be considered as a high-end solution, which gives faster and more precise results at a higher cost