Harmonics in systems are conventionally suppressed using passive tuned filters, which have practical limitations in terms of the overall cost, size and performance, and these are particularly unsatisfactory when large number of harmonics are involved Active power filtering is an alternative approach in which the filter injects suitable compensation currents to cancel the harmonic currents, usually through the use of power electronic converters. This type of filter does not exhibit the drawbacks normally associated with its passive counterpart, and a large number of harmonics can be compensated by a single unit without incurring additional cost or performance degradation. This thesis investigates an active power filter configuration incorporating instantaneous reactive power theory to calculate the compensation currents. Since the original equations for determining the reference compensation currents are defined in two imaginary phases, considerable computation time is necessary to transform them from the real three-phase values. The novel approach described in the thesis minimises the required computation time by calculating the equations directly in terms of the phase values i. e. three-phase currents and voltages. Furthermore, by utilising a sufficiently fast digital signal processor ( DSP ) to perform the calculation, real-time compensation can be achieved with greater accuracy. The results obtained show that the proposed approach leads to further harmonic suppression in both the current and voltage waveforms compared to the original approach, due to considerable reduction in the computation time of the reference compensation currents.

Electric powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a promi- nent aviation concept due to the advantageous such as stealth operation and zero emission. In addition, fuel cell powered electric UAVs are more attrac- tive as a result of the long endurance capability of the propulsion system. This dissertation investigates novel power management architecture for fuel cell and battery powered unmanned aerial vehicle propulsion application. The research work focused on the development of a power management system to control the hybrid electric propulsion system whilst optimizing the fuel cell air supplying system performances. The multiple power sources hybridization is a control challenge associated with the power management decisions and their implementation in the power electronic interface. In most applications, the propulsion power distribu- tion is controlled by using the regulated power converting devices such as unidirectional and bidirectional converters. The amount of power shared with the each power source is depended on the power and energy capacities of the device. In this research, a power management system is developed for polymer exchange membrane fuel cell and Lithium-Ion battery based hybrid electric propulsion system for an UAV propulsion application. Ini- tially, the UAV propulsion power requirements during the take-off, climb, endurance, cruising and maximum velocity are determined. A power man- agement algorithm is developed based on the UAV propulsion power re- quirement and the battery power capacity. Three power states are intro- duced in the power management system called Start-up power state, High power state and Charging power state. The each power state consists of the power management sequences to distribute the load power between the battery and the fuel cell system. A power electronic interface is developed Electric powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a promi- nent aviation concept due to the advantageous such as stealth operation and zero emission. In addition, fuel cell powered electric UAVs are more attrac- tive as a result of the long endurance capability of the propulsion system. This dissertation investigates novel power management architecture for fuel cell and battery powered unmanned aerial vehicle propulsion application. The research work focused on the development of a power management system to control the hybrid electric propulsion system whilst optimizing the fuel cell air supplying system performances. The multiple power sources hybridization is a control challenge associated with the power management decisions and their implementation in the power electronic interface. In most applications, the propulsion power distribu- tion is controlled by using the regulated power converting devices such as unidirectional and bidirectional converters. The amount of power shared with the each power source is depended on the power and energy capacities of the device. In this research, a power management system is developed for polymer exchange membrane fuel cell and Lithium-Ion battery based hybrid electric propulsion system for an UAV propulsion application. Ini- tially, the UAV propulsion power requirements during the take-off, climb, endurance, cruising and maximum velocity are determined. A power man- agement algorithm is developed based on the UAV propulsion power re- quirement and the battery power capacity. Three power states are intro- duced in the power management system called Start-up power state, High power state and Charging power state. The each power state consists of the power management sequences to distribute the load power between the battery and the fuel cell system. A power electronic interface is developed with a unidirectional converter and a bidirectional converter to integrate the fuel cell system and the battery into the propulsion motor drive. The main objective of the power management system is to obtain the controlled fuel cell current profile as a performance variable. The relationship between the fuel cell current and the fuel cell air supplying system compressor power is investigated and a referenced model is developed to obtain the optimum compressor power as a function of the fuel cell current. An adaptive controller is introduced to optimize the fuel cell air supplying system performances based on the referenced model. The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system based controller dynamically adapts the actual compressor operating power into the optimum value defined in the reference model. The online learning and training capabilities of the adaptive controller identify the nonlinear variations of the fuel cell current and generate a control signal for the compressor motor voltage to optimize the fuel cell air supplying system performances. The hybrid electric power system and the power management system were developed in real time environment and practical tests were conducted to validate the simulation results.

M.Ing. / Line commutated thyristor converters are proven to be natural line harmonic currentgenerating sources regardless of their operating modes. The quality of harmonic current components induced back to the lines is commonly described to be similar under both states of operation. This however does not seem to be quite obvious as far as the aggregate harmonic current contribution to the phase inputs per operating region of thyristor converters. It becomes thus important to examine the degree of association between thyristor converter operating states and the magnitude of current harmonic pollution induced back to the input lines to subsequently establish the most current harmonic polluting region of operation. For the purpose of this study, the Nyquist-Shannon theorem, best known as the sampling theorem, whereby the converter output signal or waveform is sampled by the switching function to reconstruct the input waveform, is numerically applied in conjunction with the MatLab/Simulink 7.0 which enables the simulation of the two-quadrant operation of direct current variable speed drive (DC VSD) and that of high voltage direct current link (HVDC) converter station operation, as well as physical measurements on the twoquadrant operation of the DC VSD (Saftronics DC2L) with the aid of the digital scope meter (DSO)1200 series. However, numerical analysis based on the sampling theorem, practical measurements obtained and the MatLab/Simulink simulations indicate that the converter operating states cause a randomly distributed harmonic current generation trend in the input lines as the firing angle is increased and the most harmonic current contribution cannot be attributed to a specific region of the controlled converter firing angle.

M.Ing. (Electrical and Electronics) / The increased use of power electronic equipment in power networks prompted the development of various topologies to compensate for the distortion in the power networks. The various compensator topologies employ a vast range of converters for the compensation of the different non-active power components. The compensators are either designed to eliminate a specific non-active power component, or a combination of converters is used to simultaneously compensate for several non-active components. The choice of compensator depends largely on the type of load, the distortion levels in the power network, the effectiveness of the compensator and very importantly, the cost implications for the user. Under constant load conditions a particular compensator would suffice. It is however not the case when the load and the accompanied distortion varies with time, which is the case with present non-linear, dynamic high power loads on the network. In these cases,. a need for another compensator or compensation strategy, that is more effective in compensating the changing load condition, exists. It would therefore be advantageous to construct a single compensator from various converters -the hybrid compensator -, so as to enable the user to compensate effectively at all times the distortion caused by his load. In order to be able to operate such a hybrid compensator cost-effectively an intelligent control system capable of constantly monitoring the load and updating the compensation strategy, is needed. Keeping in mind that, with the technology available today, compensators can effectively operate for periods in excess of twenty years, it makes sound economical sense to operate the compensator as cost-optimally as possible. This dissertation investigates the development of an artificial neural network based controller for the cost-optimal control of a hybrid compensator. The hybrid compensator considered consists of the following: A 21 kVAR three phase FF-TCR compensator with LC-fiIters tuned at the 5th, 7th,11th and 13th harmonic frequencies and a 6 kVA three-phase dynamic power filter. The hybrid compensator is to be applied for the compensation of a 25 KVA non-linear load (Inductively loaded controlled rectifier). The above mentioned compensators have been modelled to agree with experimental pilot plants. The complete system with low-level controllers was simulated with EMTP (The Electromagnetic Transients Program). This simulation was used to verify the intelligent controller operation. The neural network based controller that is investigated, consists of a Backpropagation-trained neural network, that continuously analyses the load conditions, considers the operational characteristics and losses of the hybrid compensator and proposes a cost-optimal compensation strategy for the hybrid compensator. The modelling of the hybrid compensator's operational losses and characteristics to enable the cost-effective operation thereof is discussed. Special attention is given to the modelling of the cost-effective control strategy, in the training data used for the training of the neural network controller. The training of the neural network controller, and an evaluation of its behaviour when applied to two different hybrid compensator structures, is also given.

M.Ing. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) / Shunt reactors are used in power system amongst other things, to suppress overvoltages in the network during network switching, auto reclosing of transmission lines and under low loading condition of the network. Traditionally, shunt reactors of fixed type have been used and these have been permanently connected to the system. This research work investigated the feasibility of replacing the fixed shunt line reactors with a reactor, whose parameters are automatically varied depending on the system reactive power requirements, in a mature power system overlaid with high voltage lines to improve amongst, other things voltage stability. However, in a mature system overlaid with parallel higher voltage lines, power tend to flow on the matured system rather than higher voltage system as predetermined by various impedances of the power system. It is therefore desirable that loading of higher voltage lines be increased because of their higher power transfer capability and fact that higher voltage networks generate capacitive power which is substantially more than for each line at the original voltage. However, replacing a large number of fixed line reactors, at low loadings of higher voltage lines, even when system collapse is averted by increasing the number of reactors inserted into the system, overvoltage problems may still be an issue, until a certain number of must-run reactors, operating at full reactance, are put into service. If too much inductive reactance is removed from the system when the loading levels are extremely low, the power system will collapse. Therefore, there was no economic benefit in replacing all the fixed shunt line reactors with controllable type when the loading was still relatively low. Thus, the majority of the converted reactors were operating in their full rating as there was still more reactive power to be absorbed. However, when the power was diverted to flow on the higher voltage system through the use of series compensation of the higher voltage system, there was a possibility of making some fixed shunt line reactors on the higher voltage network controllable. This also allowed more power to be transferred in the higher voltage system thus improving its utilisation. Also, a positive impact on active system losses was realised.

M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering Science) / One of the challenges of modern technology is remote control in real-time. Wireless technologies are used to control solar systems connected or not connected to the grid. Nevertheless wireless communications present some defects when they are facing basements of buildings and thick walls. To overcome that weakness, wire technologies seem to be the solution. The use of power line communications (PLC) technology presents a financial advantage, given the fact that PLC uses power wire to transmit data. PLC did an interesting leap forward in the last few years, and this drives researchers to carry out research in that field of Electrical Engineering. The advantages offered by PLC cannot be over-emphasized, but neither should the inherent problems affecting its commercial take-off be underestimated. This work creates a background study for experimental measurement and eventual implementations on PLC. A 2FSK modulation was implemented at CENELEC B standards, and the carrier signal was sent through a low wattage solar microinverter. The inverter was built in compliance with the IEEE 1547 standard. Two different coupling circuits were also built as well as the transceiver. The entire system was fed by a 250 W- 18 V monocrystalline solar panel. This investigation presents many options to integrate a communication system in a solar system. The case study has shown that a message sent through an H-bridge inverter is related to many parameters such as the modulation scheme, the coding techniques, the type of control and the DC link voltage. The result presents a very weak probability, which implies that the other options should be investigated.

The main objective of this study is to develop a methodology to assist in the reconfiguration and expansion of an electrical sub-transmission network within the framework of Value-based planning. This methodology applies to typical municipal networks found in South Africa. A literature study indicates that most of the fundamental concepts for power system reliability is well established with extensive research done in North America, and other parts of the world. Reliability worth assessment of sub-transmission networks in South Africa, which include composite networks and substation reliability, is however not well developed. From a Value-¬based point of view the literature further does not provide much linkage to the evaluation of alternative long-term network options. This is especially true in terms of the life cycle cost assessment of network alternatives, which include the prediction of customer damages as a function of network performance. In this dissertation a methodology is proposed which utilises the basic network reliability concepts to assess the performance of existing and future alternative network options. The load point Expected Unserved Energy is used to quantify network performance and is obtained through a contingency enumeration process. An existing Geographical Load Forecasting technique defines all customers connected to a load point, on a homogeneous level. This information along with Sector Customer Damage Functions is used to predict existing and future Composite Customer Damage Functions at the associated load point in the sub-transmission network. To arrive at the total minimum cost, which is the objective of Value-based planning, the present worth for each alternative is obtained from the annual utility and customer cost over the life cycle of the alternative. The alternative that result in the lowest present worth is identified as the preferred alternative. A case study is conducted on the sub-transmission network of the Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council (GPMC) in order to prove the methodology. The entire network is analysed in order to identify the sub-system with the worst performance from a reliability point of view. Alternative network options are identified and the methodology is used for the evaluation of these alternatives. The application of this methodology provides the network planner with the ability to make better decisions with regard to the allocation of reliability. Through the calculation of reliability indices, tangible guidelines can be provided to quantitatively assess the impact of different network alternatives. These guidelines assess contingency probabilities explicitly and along with reliability worth evaluation provide a fundamental tool to conduct Value-based planning. The application of this methodology can lead to significant savings in capital investment while maintaining an acceptable level of reliability. / Dissertation (M Eng (Electrical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

The main objective of this study was to investigate the performance of grid integrated PV systems. A data acquisition (DAQ) system was developed to monitor the performance of an existing grid integrated PV system with battery storage. This system is referred to as a grid assisted PV system. A data logger was used together with the inverters built in data logger to monitor environmental and electrical data on a grid tie PV system which was deployed during this study. To investigate the performance of these grid integrated PV systems PV and BOS device characterization was performed. This was achieved by using current voltage curve tracers and the DAQ system developed. Energy yield estimations were calculated referring to the literature review and a meteorological reference for comparison with measured energy yields from the grid tie PV system.

In order to investigate the influence of parasitic resistances, saturation current and diode ideality factor on the performance of photovoltaic devices, parameter extraction routines employing the standard iteration (SI) method and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method were developed to extract the series resistance, shunt resistance, saturation current and ideality factor from the I-V characteristics of solar cells and PV modules. The well-known one- and two-diode models were used to describe the behavior of the I-V curve and the parameters of the models were determined by approximation and iteration techniques. The SI and the PSO extraction programmes were used to assess the suitability of the one- and the two-diode solar cell models in describing the I-V characteristics of mono- and multicrystalline silicon solar cells, CISS- and CIGSS-based solar cells. This exercise revealed that the two-diode model provides more information regarding the different processes involved in solar cell operation. Between the two methods developed, the PSO method is faster, yielded fitted curves with lower standard deviation of residuals and, therefore, was the preferred extraction method. The PSO method was then used to extract the device parameters of CISS-based solar cells with the CISS layer selenized under different selenization process conditions and CIGSS-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness. For the CISS-based solar cells, the detrimental effect of parasitic resistances on device performance increased when the temperature and duration of the selenization process was increased. For the CIGSS-based devices, photogeneration improved with increasing i-ZnO layer thickness. At high forward bias, bulk recombination and/or tunneling-assisted recombination were the dominant processes affecting the I-V characteristics of the devices. v Lastly, device and performance parameters of mono-, multicrystalline silicon and CIS modules derived from I-V characteristics obtained under dark and illuminated conditions were analyzed considering the effects of temperature on the performance of the devices. Results showed that the effects of parasitic resistances are greater under illumination and, under outdoor conditions, the values further declined due to increasing temperature. The saturation current and ideality factor also increased under outdoor conditions which suggest increased recombination and, coupled with the adverse effects of parasitic resistances, these factors result in lower FF and lower maximum power point. Analysis performed on crystalline silicon and thin film devices utilized in this study revealed that parameter extraction from I-V characteristics of photovoltaic devices and, in particular, the implementation of PSO in solar cell device parameter extraction developed in this work is a useful characterization technique.

The objective of this study is to characterize and analyse defects in solar cell devices. Materials used to fabricate solar cells are not defects free and therefore, there is a need to investigate defects in cells. To investigate this, a topographical technique was developed and employed which uses a non-destructive methodology to analyse solar cells. A system was built which uses a technique based on a laser beam induced current (LBIC). LBIC technique involves focusing light on to a surface of a solar cell device in order to create a photo-generated current that can be measured in the external circuit for analyses. The advantage of this technique is that it allows parameter extraction. Parameters that can be extracted include short-circuit current, carrier lifetime and also the external and internal quantum efficiency of a solar cell. In this thesis, LBIC measurements in the form of picture maps are used to indicate the distribution of the localized beam induced current within solar cells. Areas with low minority carrier lifetime in solar cells are made visible by LBIC mapping. Surface reflection intensity measurements of cells can also be mapped using the LBIC system developed in this study. The system is also capable of mapping photo-generated current of a cell below and above room temperature. This thesis also presents an assessment procedure capable of assessing the device and performance parameters with reference to I-V measurements. The dark and illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were investigated. The illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were obtained using a defocused laser beam. Dark I-V measurements were performed by applying voltage across the cell in the dark and measuring a current through it. The device parameters which describe the behaviour of I-V characteristic were extracted from the I-V data using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method based on a one-and two-diode solar cell models. Solar cells of different technologies were analysed, namely, single-crystalline (c-Si) and multicrystalline (mc-Si) silicon, Edge-defined Film-fed Growth Si (EFG-Si) and Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGSS) thin film based cells. The LBIC results illustrated the effect of surface reflection features and material defects in the solar cell investigated. IQE at a wavelength of 660 nm were measured on these cells and the results in general emphasised the importance of correcting optical losses, i.e. reflection loss, when characterizing different types of defects. The agreement between the IQE measurements and I-V characteristics of a cell showed that the differences in crystal grains influence the performance of a mc-Si cell. The temperature-dependence of I-V characteristics of a CIGSS solar cell was investigated. The results showed that, for this material, the photo response is reduced at elevated temperatures. In addition to LBIC using a laser beam, solar spectral radiation was employed to obtained device performance parameters. The results emphasised the effect of grain boundaries as a recombination centres for photo-generated hole-pairs. Lastly, mesa diode characterizations of solar cells were investigated. Mesa diodes are achieved by etching down a solar cell so that the plateau regions are formed. Mesa diodes expose the p-n junction, and therefore mesa diode analysis provides a better way of determining and revealing the fundamental current conduction mechanism at the junction. Mesa diodes avoid possible edge effects. This study showed that mesa diodes can be used to characterize spatial non-uniformities in solar cells. The results obtained in this study indicate that LBIC is a useful tool for defect characterization in solar cells. Also LBIC complements other characterization techniques such as I-V characterization.