There is a need for ecological modelling to help understand the dynamics in ecological systems, and thus aid management decisions to maintain or improve the quality of the ecological systems. This research focuses on non linear statistical modelling of observations from an estuarine system, Gippsland Lakes, on the south-eastern coast of Australia. Feed forward neural networks are used to model chlorophyll time series from a fixed monitoring station at Point King. The research proposes a systematic approach to modelling in ecology using feed forward neural networks, to ensure: (a) that results are reliable, (b) to improve the understanding of dynamics in the ecological system, and (c) to obtain a prediction, if possible. An objective filtering algorithm to enable modelling is presented. Sensitivity analysis techniques are compared to select the most appropriate technique for ecological models. The research generated a chronological profile of relationships between biophysical parameters and chlorophyll level for different seasons. A sensitivity analysis of the models was used to understand how the significance of the biophysical parameters changes as the time difference between the input and predicted value changes. The results show that filtering improves modelling without introducing any noticeable bias. Partial derivative method is found to be the most appropriate technique for sensitivity analysis of ecological feed forward neural networks models. Feed forward neural networks show potential for prediction when modelled on an appropriate time series. Feed forward neural networks also show capability to increase understanding of the ecological environment. In this research, it can be seen that vertical gradient and temperature are important for chlorophyll levels at Point King at time scales from a few hours to a few days. The importance of chlorophyll level at any time to chlorophyll levels in the future reduces as the time difference between them increases.

The digitalization of the energy industry has made tremendous energy data available. This data is utilized across the entire energy value chain to provide value for customers and energy providers. One area that has gained recent attention in the energy industry is the electricity load forecasting for better scheduling and bidding on the electricity market. However, the electricity data that is used for forecasting is prone to have anomalies, which can affect the accuracy of forecasts. In this thesis we propose two anomaly detection methods to tackle the issue of anomalies in electricity demand data. We propose Long short-term memory (LSTM) and Feed-forward neural network (FFNN) based methods, and compare their anomaly detection performance on two real-world electricity demand datasets. Our results indicate that the LSTM model tends to produce a more robust behavior than the FFNN model on the dataset with regular daily and weekly patterns. However, there was no significant difference between the performance of the two models when the data was noisy and showed no regular patterns. While our results suggest that the LSTM model is effective when a regular pattern in data is present, the results were not found to be statistically significant to claim superiority of LSTM over FFNN. / Digitaliseringen inom energibranschen har tillgängliggjort enorma mängder energidata. Dessa data används över hela värdekedjan för energisystem i syfte att skapa värde för kunder och energileverantörer. Ett område som nyligen uppmärksammats inom energibranschen är att skapa prognoser för elbelastning för bättre schemaläggning och budgivning på elmarknaden. Data som används för sådana prognoser är dock benägna att ha avvikelser, vilket kan påverka prognosernas noggrannhet. I det här examensarbetet föreslår vi två metoder för detektering av avvikelser för att ta itu med frågan om avvikelser i data för elektricitetsbehov. Vi föreslår metoder baserade på Long short-term memory (LSTM) och Feedforward neural network (FFNN) och jämför dess prestanda att upptäcka avvikelser på två verkliga databanker över elbehovsdata. Våra resultat indikerar att LSTM-modellen tenderar att producera ett mer robust beteende än FFNN-modellen på data med upprepande dagliga samt veckovisa mönster. Det fanns dock ingen signifikant skillnad mellan prestanda för de två modellerna när data inte uppvisade regelbunda mönster. Även om våra resultat antyder att LSTM-modellen är effektiv när ett regelbundet datamönster finns närvarande, var resultaten inte statistiskt signifikanta för att påstå överlägsenhet av LSTM jämfört med FFNN.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The compressed air system is widely used throughout the industry. Air compressors are one of the most costly systems to operate in industrial plants in terms of energy consumption. Therefore, it becomes one of the primary targets when it comes to electrical energy and load management practices. Load forecasting is the first step in developing energy management systems both on the supply and user side. A comprehensive literature review has been conducted, and there was a need to study if predicting compressed air system’s load is a possibility. System’s load profile will be valuable to the industry practitioners as well as related software providers in developing better practice and tools for load management and look-ahead scheduling programs. Feed forward neural networks (FFNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) techniques have been used to perform 15 minutes ahead prediction. Three cases of different sizes and control methods have been studied. The results proved the possibility of the forecast. In this study two control methods have been developed by using the prediction. The first control method is designed for variable speed driven air compressors. The goal was to decrease the maximum electrical load for the air compressor by using the system's full operational capabilities and the air receiver tank. This goal has been achieved by optimizing the system operation and developing a practical control method. The results can be used to decrease the maximum electrical load consumed by the system as well as assuring the sufficient air for the users during the peak compressed air demand by users. This method can also prevent backup or secondary systems from running during the peak compressed air demand which can result in more energy and demand savings. Load management plays a pivotal role and developing maximum load reduction methods by users can result in more sustainability as well as the cost reduction for developing sustainable energy production sources. The last part of this research is concentrated on reducing the energy consumed by load/unload controlled air compressors. Two novel control methods have been introduced. One method uses the prediction as input, and the other one doesn't require prediction. Both of them resulted in energy consumption reduction by increasing the off period with the same compressed air output or in other words without sacrificing the required compressed air needed for production. / 2019-12-05

<div>The compressed air system is widely used throughout the industry. Air compressors are one of the most costly systems to operate in industrial plants in therms of energy consumption. Therefore, it becomes one of the primary target when it comes to electrical energy and load management practices. Load forecasting is the first step in developing energy management systems both on the supply and user side. A comprehensive literature review has been conducted, and there was a need to study if predicting compressed air system’s load is a possibility. </div><div><br></div><div>System’s load profile will be valuable to the industry practitioners as well as related software providers in developing better practice and tools for load management and look-ahead scheduling programs. Feed forward neural networks (FFNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) techniques have been used to perform 15 minutes ahead prediction. Three cases of different sizes and control methods have been studied. The results proved the possibility of the forecast. In this study two control methods have been developed by using the prediction. The first control method is designed for variable speed driven air compressors. The goal was to decrease the maximum electrical load for the air compressor by using the system's full operational capabilities and the air receiver tank. This goal has been achieved by optimizing the system operation and developing a practical control method. The results can be used to decrease the maximum electrical load consumed by the system as well as assuring the sufficient air for the users during the peak compressed air demand by users. This method can also prevent backup or secondary systems from running during the peak compressed air demand which can result in more energy and demand savings. Load management plays a pivotal role and developing maximum load reduction methods by users can result in more sustainability as well as the cost reduction for developing sustainable energy production sources. The last part of this research is concentrated on reducing the energy consumed by load/unload controlled air compressors. Two novel control methods have been introduced. One method uses the prediction as input, and the other one doesn't require prediction. Both of them resulted in energy consumption reduction by increasing the off period with the same compressed air output or in other words without sacrificing the required compressed air needed for production.</div><div><br></div>