This thesis presents the application of graphics processing unit (GPU) based parallel computing technique to speed up electromagnetic transients (EMT) simulation of large power systems. GPUs support extra computing capability to handle gaming and animation related applications in the desktop computers. GPUs can be used for general-purpose computations, such as EMT simulation. Traditionally, EMT simulation tools are implemented on the CPUs, where simulation is performed in a sequential manner. Hence, with the increase in network size, there is a drastic increase in simulation times. This research shows that the use of GPU computing considerably reduces the total simulation time. This thesis proposes parallelized algorithm for EMT simulations on the GPU, and demonstrates the algorithm by simulating large power systems. Total computation times for GPU computing, using 'compute unified device architecture' (CUDA)-based C programming are compared with the total computation times for the sequential implementations on the CPU using ANSI-C programming for systems of various sizes and types. Special parallel processing techniques are implemented to model various power system components such as transmission lines, generators, etc. An advanced technique to implement parallel matrix-vector multiplication on the GPU is implemented, which shows a significant performance gain in the simulation. A sparsity-based technique for the inverse admittance matrix is implemented in this simulation process to ignore the multiplications involving zeros. A typical power electronic subsystem is also implemented in this simulation process, which had not been implemented in the literature so far for the GPU platforms. GPU computing-based simulation of large power networks with many power electronic subsystems has shown a massive performance gain compared to conventional sequential simulations with and without the sparsity technique. Finally, in this research work, the effect of granularity on the speedup of simulation was investigated. Granularity is defined as the ratio of the number of transmission lines used to interconnect various subsystems to the total size of the network. It should be noted that dividing a network into smaller subsystems requires additional transmission lines. Simulation results show that there is a negative impact on the overall performance gain of simulation with the use of excessive transmission lines in the test systems.

Transient stability of electric energy grids is defined as the ability of the power system to remain in synchronism during large disturbances. If the grid is not equipped with controllers capable of transiently stabilizing system dynamics, large disturbances could cause protection to trigger disconnecting the equipment and leading further to cascading system-wide blackouts. Today’s practice of tuning controllers generally does not guarantee a transiently stable response because it does not use a model for representing system-wide dynamic interactions. To overcome this problem, in this thesis we propose a new systems modeling and control design for provable transient stabilization of power systems against a given set of disturbances. Of particular interest are fast power-electronically-controlled Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) devices which have become a new major option for achieving transient stabilization. The first major contribution of this thesis is a framework for modeling of general interconnected power systems for very fast transient stabilization using FACTS devices. We recognize that a dynamic model for transient stabilization of power systems has to capture fast electromagnetic dynamics of the transmission grid and FACTS, in addition to the commonly-modeled generator dynamics. To meet this need, a nonlinear dynamic model of general interconnected electric power systems is derived using time-varying phasors associated with states of all dynamic components. The second major contribution of this thesis is a two-level approach to modeling and control which exploits the unique network structure and enables preserving only relevant dynamics in the nonlinear system model. This approach is fundamentally based on separating: a) internal dynamics model for ensuring stable local response of components; b) system-level model in terms of interaction variables for ensuring stability of the system when the components are interconnected. The two levels can be controlled separately which minimizes the need for communication between controllers. Both distributed and cooperative ectropy-based controllers are proposed to control the interaction-level of system dynamics. Proof of concept simulations are presented to illustrate and compare the promising performance of the derived controllers. Some of the most advanced FACTS industry installations are modeled and further generalized using our approach.

A variety of factors such as increasing electrical energy demand, slow expansion of transmission infrastructures, and electric energy market deregulation, are forcing utilities and system operators to operate power systems closer to their design limits. Operating under stressed regimes can have a detrimental effect on the rotor-angle stability of the system. This stability reduction is often reflected by the emergence or worsening of poorly damped low-frequency electromechanical oscillations. Without appropriate measures these can lead to costly blackouts. To guarantee system security, operators are sometimes forced to limit power transfers that are economically beneficial but that can result in poorly damped oscillations. Controllers that damp these oscillations can improve system reliability by preventing blackouts and provide long term economic gains by enabling more extensive utilization of the transmission infrastructure. Previous research in the use of artificial neural network-based intelligent controllers for power system damping control has shown promise when tested in small power system models. However, these controllers do not scale-up well enough to be deployed in realistically-sized power systems. The work in this dissertation focuses on improving the scalability of intelligent power system stabilizing controls so that they can significantly improve the rotor-angle stability of large-scale power systems. A framework for designing effective and robust intelligent controllers capable of scaling-up to large scale power systems is proposed. Extensive simulation results on a large-scale power system simulation model demonstrate the rotor-angle stability improvements attained by controllers designed using this framework.

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Organic molecules based photovoltaic cells were fabricated in an open laboratory conditions without the use of glove box or clean room. Conducting polymers such as P3HT and PCBM were used as a photo-active layer of the devices. We found significant difference in the performance of the devices by employing two laboratory conditions of the polymer solutions. Enhanced current density has been observed from P3HT/PCBM bulkheterojunction solar cell after diluting a well sonicated polymers solution with fresh chloroform solvent. As the result of such current surge in the devices the efficiency rose to more than double compared to those devices without dilution of the P3HT/PCBM solution. An average power conversion efficiency of 4.5% was then recorded from the new preparation condition. This is an encouraging development toward achieving low cost organic photovoltaic devices. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Previously, conventional state estimation techniques have been used for state estimation in power systems. These conventional methods are based on steady state models. As a result of this, power system dynamics during disturbances or transient conditions are not adequately captured. This makes it challenging for operators in control centers to perform visual tracking of the system, proper fault diagnosis and even take adequate preemtive control measures to ensure system stability during voltage dips. Another challenge is that power systems are nonlinear in nature. There are multiple power components in operation at any given time making the system highly dynamic in nature. Consequently, the need to study and implement better dynamic estimation tools that capture system dynamics during disturbances and transient conditions is necessary. For this thesis work, we present the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) which integrates Unscented Transformation (UT) to Kalman Filtering. Our algorithm takes as input the output of a synchronous machine modeled in MATLAB/Simulink as well as data from a PMU device assumed to be installed at the terminal bus of the synchronous machine, and estimate the dynamic states of the system using a Kalman Filter. We have presented a detailed and analytical study of our proposed algorithm in estimating two dynamic states of the synchronous machine, rotor angle and rotor speed. Our study and result shows that our proposed methodology has better efficiency when compared to the results of the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) algorithm in estimating dynamic states of a power system.  Our results are presented and analyzed on the basis of how accurately the algorithm estimates the system states following various simulated transient and small-signal disturbances.

High output electrical energy is obtained from photovoltaic (PV) systems subject to high irradiance. However, at high irradiance, the efficiency of PV systems drops due to increase of the temperature of the systems. In order to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic systems, much effort has been spent on developing hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems using water as a coolant to withdraw heat from solar modules. This research is focused on the study of the behavior of hybrid PVT collectors using rectangular channel profiles which provide a large surface for heat exchange between PV panels and thermal collectors unlike the circular channel profile used in conventional PV systems. In hybrid PVT systems, coolant water circulates in a closed circuit by means of the thermosyphon phenomenon and the heat from this water is extracted from a storage tank and can be used in hot water systems instead of an electric geyser. Numerical models of water velocity in channels due to the thermosyphon phenomenon and the temperature of solar modules was developed and a system was designed for modest Durban household demand. A simulation was run for specific summer and winter days comparing a conventional PV system and a hybrid PVT system. The results were very encouraging, and demonstrated that the equipment is capable of extending the PVT application potential in the domestic sector where more than 40% of electricity cost is heating water. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The analysis and characterization of the steady-state security of a bulk-power electric system is investigated in a region-wise or set-theoretic framework. The study is divided into three parts: a detailed examination of the theoretical aspects of general security regions; a formulation and analysis of the problem of characterizing a set of secure operating points by a simple, explicit function; and an investigation into the secure loadability of a power system. Based on the results of the theoretical study, general approximate relations expressing dependent load flow variables in terms of the nodal injections are derived. Their degree of accuracy and extent of validity are investigated through analytical and simulation-based analyses. The general problem of characterizing subsets of a security region by simple, explicit functions is formulated as an optimization problem. For the case where the subsets are expressed by ellipsoids, two algorithms are developed and tested. The problem is then extended to include embedding the largest ellipsoid of a £ixed orientation inside a security region. The application of explicit security sets to the problem of predictive security assessment is studied in detail. A number of explicit security subsets overlapping along the predicted daily trajectory is used to define a "security corridor". This predicted corridor has the property that as long as the actual trajectory stays within it, very little computation is needed to assess the system security. The secure loadability of a power system is first studied in the demand space by considering the orthogonal projection of security sets into that space. It is then studied in the voltage space in the context of existence of a secure load flow solution to a given loading condition. Properties of the set of secure voltage solutions are explored by enclosing it with a linear set. Furthermore, it is shown that, under favorable conditions, one can easily characterize a subset of the set / L'analyse et la caracterisation de la securite en regime permanent pour un reseau et transmission ont ete etudiees dans le contexte de la theorie des ensembles. L'etude est divisee en trois parties: un examen detaille: des aspects theoriques des regions de securite generale; la formulation et l'analyse de probleme de la caracterisation d'un ensemble de points de fonctionnement par une fonction simple, sous forme explicite, et l'etude de la capacite de charge d'un reseau. Une analyse theorique a permis de deriver des relations approximative generales, exprimant les variables dependantes de l'ecoulement de puissance en terme des injections de noeud. Le degre de precision de ces approximations ainsi que leurs limites d'application sont determinees a l'aide de simulations et d'analyses theoriques. Le probleme general de la caracterisation des sous-ensembles d'une region de securite par des fonctions simples et sous forme explicite est formule comme probleme d'optimisation. Dans le cas ou les sous-ensembles sont exprimes par des ellipsoides, deux algorithmes sont developpes et verifies. Le probleme est alors elargi de facon a inclure le plus grand ellipsoide d'orientation fixe a l'interieur d'une region de securite. L'application d'ensembles de securite au prob1eme de l'evaluation preventive est etudiee en detail. On utilise un certain nombre d'ensembles de securite se recoupant long de la trajectoire journaliere prevue de facon a definir un corridor de securite. Ce corridor prevu possede la propriete qu'aussi longtemps que la trajectoire y est confinee, un minimum de calculs est requis pour evaluer la securite du systeme. Le chargement securitaire d'un reseau est en premier lieu etudie en considerant la projection orthogonale des ensembles de securite sur cet espace. Il est ensuite etudie dans l'espace des tensions, dans le contexte de l'existence d'une solution pour une charge donnee. Les proprietes de l'ensemble des solutions securitaires sont explorees en l'enchas

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Thesis (M.S.)--Drexel University, 2008. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-83).