Transient Recovery Voltage (TRV) is an important consideration in the selection and installation of circuit breakers with appropriate ratings. Capacitor banks with inrush current limiting reactors are an integral part of the power system. Capacitor banks with inrush reactors on the load side terminal of the capacitor breaker alter the TRV seen across the breaker and it is critical to carry out the TRV analysis to prevent circuit breaker failure. TRV analysis has been performed for various capacitor bank - inrush reactor configurations, with the fault occurring at different terminals on the load side. Analytical solutions have been presented for both single-phase and three-phase ungrounded capacitor banks. Neutral displacement voltage of three-phase ungrounded capacitor banks result in increased stress across the breaker. Results have been validated with PSCAD simulation and MATLAB plots. / text

Power outages usually lead to customer complaints and revenue losses. Consequently, fast and accurate fault location on electric lines is needed so that repair work can be carried out as fast as possible. Chapter 2 describes novel fault location algorithms for radial and non-radial ungrounded power distribution systems. For both types of systems, fault location approaches using line to neutral or line to line measurements are presented. It’s assumed that network structure and parameters are known, so that during-fault bus impedance matrix of the system can be derived. Functions of bus impedance matrix and available measurements at substation are formulated, from which the unknown fault location can be estimated. Evaluation studies on fault location accuracy and robustness of fault location methods to load variations and measurement errors has been performed. Most existing fault location methods rely on measurements obtained from meters installed in power systems. To get the most from a limited number of meters available, optimal meter placement methods are needed. Chapter 3 presents a novel optimal meter placement algorithm to keep the system observable in terms of fault location determination. The observability of a fault location in power systems is defined first. Then, fault location observability analysis of the whole system is performed to determine the least number of meters needed and their best locations to achieve fault location observability. Case studies on fault location observability with limited meters are presented. Optimal meter deployment results based on the studied system with equal and varying monitoring cost for meters are displayed. To enhance fault location accuracy, an optimal fault location estimator for power distribution systems with distributed generation (DG) is described in Chapter 4. Voltages and currents at locations with power generation are adopted to give the best estimation of variables including measurements, fault location and fault resistances. Chi-square test is employed to detect and identify bad measurement. Evaluation studies are carried out to validate the effectiveness of optimal fault location estimator. A set of measurements with one bad measurement is utilized to test if a bad data can be identified successfully by the presented method.

The use of mineral adition in concrete is a widely studied theme for several researchers that looking for features like: save cement for reducing costs, durability improvement to increase mechanical strenght and use of industrial wastes for reducing environmental pollution. This study intend to analize the microstructure of concretes mixtures with ungrounded residual rice husk ash addition without burn control unground (RHAN), like a partial cement substitute in conventional concrete for reducing costs, since cement is the most expensive component, and the use RHAN avoiding dumping on environment like a ground and water pollutant. Five different concrete mixtures proportions: 2 mixes of RHAN, with 15% and 25% of partial cement substitution, 2 mixes of ground RHA (RHAM), with 15% and 25% of partial cement substitution, for comparison, and a control design, withouth adition. All concrete disigns were developed for 3 water/binder relationships (0,45, 0,55 e 0,65), 15 differents concrete design in total, for ages 28 and 91 days, were done. Tests like: axial compressive strenght, percentual of chemically combined water, mercury intrusion porosimetry,X-ray difraction and image analysis by scanning eletronic microscope (SEM) combined energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were done. Tests results proved that RHA use is feasible for 15% of substitution of cement by RHAN, since concretes had values of compressive strenght few smaller than control concrete values, at 28 days, however higher than it at 91 days. Because of pozolanic reaction and filler efect combination, of RHAN and RHAM particles, concrete with RHA adition had microstructural changes like: size pore refinement, total porosity reduction and calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) formation through pozolanic reaction. RHA Inert particles created nucleation sites improving hydrate crystals formation. / O uso de adições minerais em concretos é um tema bastante estudado por vários pesquisadores que buscam características como: redução do consumo de cimento para redução de custos, aumento da durabilidade, aumento da resistência mecânica e aproveitamento de resíduos industriais para redução da poluição ambiental. Este estudo pretende analisar a microestrutura dos concretos dosados com adição de cinza de casca de arroz residual sem controle de queima e sem moagem (CCAN), em substituição parcial de cimento em concretos convencionais com a finalidade de redução de custos, já que o cimento é o componente mais caro do concreto e também aproveitar a CCAN evitando assim que seja descartada no ambiente como um poluente de água e solo. Foram estudados diferentes traços de concreto: 2 traços com CCAN em teores de 15 e 25% de substituição parcial de cimento, 2 traços com CCA moída (CCAM) em teores de 15 e 25% de substituição parcial de cimento, para comparação, e um traço de referência, ou seja sem substituição de cimento. Cada traço foi desenvolvido para 3 relações a/ag (0,45, 0,55 e 0,65), totalizando então 15 diferentes traços, que foram estudados para as idades de 28 e 91 dias. Foram realizados ensaios de resistência à compressão axial, teor de água quimicamente combinada, porosidade por intrusão de mercúrio, difração de raios x e análise de imagens no microscópio eletrônico de varredura (MEV) combinado com a espectrometria de dispersão de raios X (EDS). Os resultados demonstraram que a utilização da CCAN é viável para teores de 15% de substituição de cimento, já que produziu concretos com valores de resistência à compressão pouco inferiores aos valores do concreto de referência, aos 28 dias, porém superiores a este quando a idade analisada é 91 dias. Devido à combinação da reação pozolânica e efeito filler das partículas de CCAN e CCAM, os concretos com adição de CCA apresentaram modificações da microestrutura como: refinamento dos poros, redução da porosidade total, formação de silicatos de cálcio hidratados (C-S-H) a partir da reação pozolânica. Partículas inertes de CCA criaram também espaços para a nucleação aumentando a formação de cristais hidratados.