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At least 1,531 records · Page 85

Power Quality Improvement Utilizing Photovoltaic Generation Connected to a Weak Grid

Microgrid research and development in the past decades have been one of the most popular topics. Similarly, the photovoltaic generation has been surging among renewable generation in the past few years, thanks to the availability, affordability, technology maturity of the PV panels and the PV inverter in the general market. Unfortunately, quite often, the PV installations are connected to weak grids and may have been considered as the culprit of poor power quality affecting other loads in particular sensitive loads connected to the same point of common coupling (PCC). This paper is intended to demystify the renewable generation, and turns the negative perception into positive revelation of the superiority of PV generation to the power quality improvement in a microgrid system. The main objective of this work is to develop a control method for the PV inverter so that the power quality at the PCC will be improved under various disturbances. The method is to control the reactive current based on utilizing the grid current to counteract the negative impact of the disturbances. The proposed control method is verified in PSIM platform. Promising results have been obtained.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

ScienceSearch: Enabling Search through Automatic Metadata Generation

© 2018 IEEE. Scientific facilities are increasingly generating and handling large amounts of data from experiments and simulations. Next-generation scientific discoveries rely on insights derived from data, especially across domain boundaries. Search capabilities are critical to enable scientists to discover datasets of interest. However, scientific datasets often lack the signals or metadata required for effective searches. Thus, we need formalized methods and systems to automatically annotate scientific datasets from the data and its surrounding context. Additionally, a search infrastructure needs to account for the scale and rate of application data volumes. In this paper, we present ScienceSearch, a system infrastructure that uses machine learning techniques to capture and learn the knowledge, context, and surrounding artifacts from data to generate metadata and enable search. Our current implementation is focused on a dataset from the National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM), an electron microscopy facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory sponsored by the Department of Energy which supports hundreds of users and stores millions of micrographs. In this paper, we describe a) our search infrastructure and model, b) methods for generating metadata using machine learning techniques, and c) optimizations to improve search latency, and deployment on an HPC system. We demonstrate that ScienceSearch is capable of producing valid metadata for NCEM's dataset and providing low-latency good quality search results over a scientific dataset.

Rodrigo, Gonzalo P.↗

Automated Generation of Integrated Digital and Spiking Neuromorphic Machine Learning Accelerators

The growing numbers of application areas for artificial intelligence (AI) methods have led to an explosion of domain-specific accelerators that could support every new machine learning (ML) algorithm advancement, clearly highlighting the need for a capability to quickly and automatically transition from algorithm definition to hardware implementation and explore design space along a variety of SWaP (size, weight and Power). The software defined architectures (SODA) synthesizer implements a compiler-based modular infrastructure for the end-to-end generation of machine learning accelerators from high-level frameworks to hardware description language. At the same time, neuromorphic computing, by mimicking how the brain operates, promises to perform artificial intelligence tasks at efficiencies orders of magnitude higher than the current conventional tensor-processing based accelerators, as demonstrated by a variety of specialized designs leveraging Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs). Nevertheless, the mapping of an artificial neural network (ANN) to solutions supporting SNNs is still a non-trivial and very device-specific task, and completely lack the possibility to design hybrid systems that integrate conventional and spiking neural models. In this paper we discuss the support for such an integrated generation leveraging the SODA Synthesizer framework and its modular structure. In particular, we present a new MLIR dialect (part of the SODA frontend) that allows expressing spiking neural network features (e.g., available resources, spiking sequences, analog signal reading, etc.) and illustrate how it enables mapping to Spiking Neurons and deployment to the related specialized hardware (which, in the digital domain, could be generated through the other existing layers of the SODA Synthesizer). We then discuss the opportunities for even deeper integration afforded by the hardware compilation infrastructure, providing a path towards the generation of complex heterogeneous artificial intelligence systems.

Curzel, Serena↗

Performance of High Voltage Bipolar Pulse Generator with Fast Push-Pull Solid-State Switch Modules

Four identical pulse generators (pulsers) provide fast beam deflection in the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) beam chopping system at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) Linac. The existing pulsers have become obsolete and need to be replaced to improve overall performance of the chopper system. A new bipolar pulse generator has been designed, and a prototype has been built and tested at the SNS. The generator uses fast push-pull transistor BEHLKE switch modules. It can produce a 1MHz burst of alternate 2.5kV with adjustable pulse widths during the 1-ms macro-pulse at a burst repetition frequency of 60Hz with rise/fall times of less than 40ns into a 100pF capacitive load. The performance enhancements of this new pulser in comparison with existing and previous versions of the pulse generator are discussed in the paper. The pulser can be used in applications requiring a series of bipolar ±3.5kV pulses, or unipolar pulses of positive or negative polarity with amplitude up to 4.5kV and various pulse widths with a minimum of 150ns. The maximum switching frequency, number of pulses, or burst repetition frequency in burst mode is limited by maximum power dissipation in the switches and other components. The features of this new pulser along with the results of timing control adjustments, timing and temperature measurements, and HV full power testing on the test stand are presented.

Peplov, Vladimir↗

A Data-Driven Framework for Residential Electric Vehicle Charging Load Profile Generation

Residential electric vehicle charging load profile is indispensable to achieve reliable control strategies for mitigating negative effects on power distribution system due to emerging electrified transportation. This paper introduces a data-driven framework of charging load profile generation for residential plug-in electric vehicles. Real world historical residential charging behavior data is utilized to construct empirical charging decision making model by using machine learning algorithm. A multiple channels method with kernel density estimation is proposed to construct probability density functions for estimating charging duration based on parking duration. A generation algorithm considering parking time and travel demand dependency is introduced to generate residential charging behaviors. This framework is extensible to generate various charging load profiles and simulate varied residential charging scenarios under different number of households and charging rates. This will be crucial for designing and validating residential charging control strategies.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

A Digital Three Level Space Vector Modulator for High Frequency Vector Sequence Generation

This letter proposes a digital high-speed three-level space vector pulse width modulator (3L-SVPWM). A conventional 3L-SVPWM is typically computation-based, involving a sequential execution of sub-tasks on a digital signal processor (DSP) based controller. The resulting high computation time of 5.4 μs limits the implementation of additional control blocks for switching frequencies greater than 100 kHz. This is overcome by transforming sub-tasks into digital blocks with 1-0 decisions and simpler arithmetic operations. The sub-task blocks are executed concurrently on a programmable logic device (PLD). Hence, a fast 3L-SVPWM execution in 140 ns is achieved. The proposed digital 3L-SVPWM enables high switching frequency operation of wide bandgap (WBG) device-based 3 L inverters to generate high fundamental frequency waveforms. A finite state machine is an integral part of the proposed implementation with the ability to generate any vector sequence, maximizing the usage of redundant vector states in 3L-SVPWM. Here, the proposed digital 3L-SVPWM operation is demonstrated with a GaN-based 3 L active neutral point clamped (3L-ANPC) inverter. Experimental results are presented at 250 kHz switching frequency to generate vector sequences for center-aligned SVPWM (CA-SVPWM) and common mode voltage reduced SVPWM (CMVR-SVPWM). The results also showcase a high fundamental frequency generation capability of 10 kHz.

active neutral point clamped inverter↗

Robustness: The Missing Ingredient in Generation Scheduling

This article highlights robustness as an essential factor to cope with the ever-increasing levels of uncertainty in generation scheduling under significant renewable energy penetration, as is the case in Brazil and Spain. To that end, robust generation scheduling is framed within the different optimization-based approaches that are available for uncertainty handling. In addition, the suitability of robust optimization to accommodate practical security criteria in generation scheduling is also emphasized. Interestingly, this article points out the existence of an effective algorithm allowing the discovery of critical or so-called umbrella scenarios, which paves the way for the implementation of robust generation scheduling in industry practice.

Street, Alexandre↗

Adaptive building load control to enable high penetration of solar photovoltaic generation

This paper investigates the ability of a collection of deferrable heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) loads to directly emulate energy storage devices (ESD), that is, to absorb any low frequency fluctuations in solar generation. We find the optimal number of aggregated HVAC loads to absorb solar fluctuation in the same frequency band based on frequency analysis. To guarantee quality of service in afleet of residential buildings, an optimization problem is formed to compute optimal schedule of the HVAC loads considering temperature comfort band and available solar generation. By minimizing the tracking error between solar generation and total consumption, the proposed method also quantifies the minimum capacity of ESD (battery or fly-wheel) . The simulation results show that the proposed techniques are able to achieve good solar tracking performance as well as obtain a minimal ESD capacity. Therefore, we show that most of the renewable generation can be consumed locally through an intelligent coordination of HVAC loads, their impacts on the grid would be minimal and the required ESD capacity can be minimized.

Dong, Jin↗

WfBench: Automated Generation of Scientific Workflow Benchmarks

The prevalence of scientific workflows with high computational demands calls for their execution on various distributed computing platforms, including large-scale leadership-class high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. To handle the deployment, monitoring, and optimization of workflow executions, many workflow systems have been developed over the past decade. There is a need for workflow benchmarks that can be used to evaluate the performance of workflow systems on current and future software stacks and hardware platforms.We present a generator of realistic workflow benchmark specifications that can be translated into benchmark code to be executed with current workflow systems. Our approach generates workflow tasks with arbitrary performance characteristics (CPU, memory, and I/O usage) and with realistic task dependency structures based on those seen in production workflows. We present experimental results that show that our approach generates benchmarks that are representative of production workflows, and conduct a case study to demonstrate the use and usefulness of our generated benchmarks to evaluate the performance of workflow systems under different configuration scenarios.

Coleman, Taina↗

Behind-the-Meter Solar Generation Disaggregation using Consumer Mixture Models

To facilitate deep penetration of solar energy in smart grids, we need high observability of solar generation at the edges of the grid. Current advanced metering infrastructures (AMI) only monitor the aggregated measurements from net-metered households, but disaggregated consumption and solar generation components are required for grid optimizations. We propose an unsupervised disaggregation model for disaggregating solar generation from AMI measurements without the need of training data. The model requires only AMI measurements from consumers in a region and the solar irradiance as input, and models the consumption of consumers by neighboring households without rooftop photovoltaics (PV) to perform the disaggregation. We evaluate our results on a real life dataset from Austin, Texas. We show that our model is able to disaggregate consumption and solar generation measurements with 42.24% and 31.67% less mean squared error, respectively, in comparison to a baseline technique that uses supervised learning. This shows that our model is capable of disaggregating historical data even if the dataset has no training data and only contains minimal exogenous data.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Impedance-Based Prediction of Distortions Generated by Resonance in Grid-Connected Converters

Small-signal impedance-based analysis can effectively predict the frequency and damping of resonance modes in power electronic systems. However, it cannot predict the magnitude of resonance or explain resonance-generated distortions in the absence of an external disturbance at the resonance frequency. This paper presents an impedance-based theory for the prediction of the magnitude of resonance or resonance-generated distortions in grid-connected converters. It is discovered that the impedance response of a converter starts changing with the magnitude of resonance at its terminals. The changing converter impedance response may stabilize an unstable growing resonance mode beyond a certain magnitude, at which point the converter enters a limit cycle mode of sustained oscillations. The proposed theory uses large-signal impedance for the prediction of resonance-generated distortions; the large-signal impedance of an electrical equipment represents its impedance response for different magnitudes of perturbation injected at its terminals. Large-signal impedance-based prediction of resonance-generated distortions is demonstrated for a three-phase grid-connected voltage-source converter.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Influence of Control and Limiter Schemes on Sequence-Domain Fault Models of Grid-Forming Inverter-Interfaced Distributed Generators

Unlike synchronous generators, the fault response of grid-forming (GFM) inverter-interfaced distributed generators (IIDGs) is notably governed by the selection of control and current limiting strategies rather than inherent physical traits. While recent research has focused on the sequence domain fault model of GFM IIDGs, a research gap exists in elucidating the influence of control and current limiting schemes on this model's characteristics. This article aims to fill this void by examining how different control and current limiting schemes influence the positive and negative sequence impedances in the phasor-domain fault model of GFM IIDGs. This investigation encompasses droop-based, virtual synchronous machine-based, and virtual oscillator-based reference generation controls alongside rotating and stationary reference-frame-based voltage controls. Furthermore, saturation-based, latching-based, circular and virtual impedance-based current limiting schemes are analyzed. To achieve this goal, a thorough numerical simulation study is conducted. Findings indicate that outer reference generation controls exhibit minimal impact. Conversely, the choice of voltage control and various current limiting schemes emerge as the predominant factors shaping the sequence models of GFM IIDGs. These analyses and results are instrumental in devising reliable protection strategies within inverter-based grids, as a comprehensive understanding of electrical elements in the sequence domain is imperative for effective protective measures.

current limiters↗

Exploiting Identical Generators in Unit Commitment

Here, we present sufficient conditions under which thermal generators can be aggregated in mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulations of the unit commitment (UC) problem, while maintaining feasibility and optimality for the original disaggregated problem. Aggregating thermal generators with identical characteristics (e.g., minimum/maximum power output, minimum up/down-time, and cost curves) into a single unit reduces redundancy in the search space induced by both exact symmetry (permutations of generator schedules) and certain classes of mutually non-dominated solutions. We study the impact of aggregation on two large-scale UC instances, one from the academic literature and another based on real-world operator data. Our computational tests demonstrate that when present, identical generators can negatively affect the performance of modern MILP solvers on UC formulations. Further, we show that our reformation of the UC MILP through aggregation is an effective method for mitigating this source of computational difficulty.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Optimization of the thrombin generation test components to measure potency of factor VIII concentrates

Introduction The thrombin generation test (TGT) is used both as a global haemostasis assay, and to compare activities of coagulation factor concentrates that have been spiked into patient plasma. However, TGT has not been systematically optimized to evaluate factor VIII (FVIII) product potency. Aims To improve the sensitivity of TGT to FVIII and allow a comparative analysis of the thrombin generating capacities of FVIII concentrates against reference preparations with known FVIII activity. Methods Concentrations of TGT components (analytical variables) were assessed to maximize the linearity and range of responses to the concentration of FVIII. Results We optimized the range and sensitivity of the TGT assay with respect to FVIII through the addition of FXIa to the assay. Other parameters that were adjusted, i.e. tissue factor (TF), procoagulant lipids and plasma concentrations, did not improve the ability of the assay to measure both high and very low levels of FVIII. In the optimized TF/FXIa‐activated TGT assay, all thrombin generation curve parameters were suitable for FVIII quantification, but thrombin peak height and maximal velocity demonstrated better linearity in the desired FVIII range. We found that the optimized TF/FXIa‐activated TGT has a wider range of sensitivity to FVIII than a commercially available TGT. Additionally, we demonstrated that the TF/FXIa‐activated assay performs adequately by comparing potency measurements of five commercially available FVIII products using TGT and traditional chromogenic and one‐stage clotting assays. Conclusions The optimized TGT assay can be used to quantify and compare the thrombin generating capacities of FVIII concentrates.

Jha, N. K.↗

Effects of Downstream Vortex Generators on Film Cooling a Flat Plate Fed by Crossflow

Counter-rotating vortices, formed by the interaction of film-cooling jets and the hot gas flow, adversely affect the performance of conventional film-cooling designs. Downstream vortex generators have been shown to improve cooling effectiveness by mitigating the effects of the counter-rotating vortices and by deflecting the cooling jet laterally. In this study, computational and experimental methods were used to examine how cylindrical film-cooling holes (D = 3.2 mm, L/D = 6, p/D = 3, α = 30 deg) with and without downstream vortex generators perform when the coolant supply channel is perpendicular to the direction of the hot gas. For this study, the hot gas had a temperature of 650 K and an average Mach number of 0.23. Here, the hot-gas-to-coolant temperature ratio was 1.9, and two blowing ratios (0.75 and 1.0) were studied. Results from the computational fluid dynamics study show how crossflow affects the interaction between the film-cooling jet and hot gas flow with and without downstream vortex generators. The experimental measurements were based on infrared thermography in a conjugate heat transfer environment. Results were obtained for film-cooling performance in terms of overall effectiveness, film effectiveness, and local heat transfer coefficients. The downstream vortex generators can increase the laterally averaged effectiveness by a factor of 1.5 relative to cylindrical holes, but this higher performance is restricted to low crossflow velocities and higher blowing ratios.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Excitation of XPS spectra from nanoscaled particles by local generation of x-rays

In preliminary work, the authors have shown that use of an aluminum substrate to support a distribution of copper particles enables their characteristic photoelectrons to be observed within the Auger electron spectrum generated by an incident electron beam. This observation raises the possibility of the use of chemical shifts and the corresponding Auger parameter to identify the chemical states present on the surface of individual submicrometer particles within a mixture. In this context, the technique has an advantage in that, unlike conventional Auger electron spectroscopy, the electron beam does not dwell on the particle but on the substrate adjacent to it. Given the importance, for both medical and toxicological reasons, of the surface composition of such particles, the authors have continued to explore the potential of this development. In this contribution, the authors show that proximal excitation of x-rays is equally successful with magnesium substrates. In some regions of the x-ray photoelectron spectrum, the much larger Auger peaks generated by the electron beam can cause inconvenient clustering of Auger and photoelectron peaks. As in conventional x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the ability to switch between Al and Mg sources is useful in such situations. In this context, the authors have extended the studies to iron particles where the authors show that use of Al or Mg substrates, as necessary, can make a contribution to clear identification of individual components in the Fe 2p peaks. For this development in electron spectroscopy to achieve its full potential, it is necessary to optimize the beam conditions used to generate the local x-ray to give good selectivity of a given particle. Measurements made in support of this will be given. Of greater concern is a possible problem of local heating associated with x-ray generation. The authors continue to explore this problem and report some progress in minimizing heating of the particle while maintaining the particle selectivity that is central to this exciting development.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

MRI-based treatment planning with pseudo CT generated through atlas registration

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based treatment planning using pseudo CTs generated through atlas registration. Methods: A pseudo CT, providing electron density information for dose calculation, was generated by deforming atlas CT images previously acquired on other patients. The authors tested 4 schemes of synthesizing a pseudo CT from single or multiple deformed atlas images: use of a single arbitrarily selected atlas, arithmetic mean process using 6 atlases, and pattern recognition with Gaussian process (PRGP) using 6 or 12 atlases. The required deformation for atlas CT images was derived from a nonlinear registration of conjugated atlas MR images to that of the patient of interest. The contrasts of atlas MR images were adjusted by histogram matching to reduce the effect of different sets of acquisition parameters. For comparison, the authors also tested a simple scheme assigning the Hounsfield unit of water to the entire patient volume. All pseudo CT generating schemes were applied to 14 patients with common pediatric brain tumors. The image similarity of real patient-specific CT and pseudo CTs constructed by different schemes was compared. Differences in computation times were also calculated. The real CT in the treatment planning system was replaced with the pseudo CT, and the dose distribution was recalculated to determine the difference. Results: The atlas approach generally performed better than assigning a bulk CT number to the entire patient volume. Comparing atlas-based schemes, those using multiple atlases outperformed the single atlas scheme. For multiple atlas schemes, the pseudo CTs were similar to the real CTs (correlation coefficient, 0.787–0.819). The calculated dose distribution was in close agreement with the original dose. Nearly the entire patient volume (98.3%–98.7%) satisfied the criteria of chi-evaluation (<2% maximum dose and 2 mm range). The dose to 95% of the volume and the percentage of volume receiving at least 95% of the prescription dose in the planning target volume differed from the original values by less than 2% of the prescription dose (root-mean-square, RMS < 1%). The PRGP scheme did not perform better than the arithmetic mean process with the same number of atlases. Increasing the number of atlases from 6 to 12 often resulted in improvements, but statistical significance was not always found. Conclusions: MRI-based treatment planning with pseudo CTs generated through atlas registration is feasible for pediatric brain tumor patients. The doses calculated from pseudo CTs agreed well with those from real CTs, showing dosimetric accuracy within 2% for the PTV when multiple atlases were used. The arithmetic mean process may be a reasonable choice over PRGP for the synthesis scheme considering performance and computational costs.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

SU-C-BRD-03: Analysis of Accelerator Generated Text Logs for Preemptive Maintenance

Purpose: To develop a model to analyze medical accelerator generated parameter and performance data that will provide an early warning of performance degradation and impending component failure. Methods: A robust 6 MV VMAT quality assurance treatment delivery was used to test the constancy of accelerator performance. The generated text log files were decoded and analyzed using statistical process control (SPC) methodology. The text file data is a single snapshot of energy specific and overall systems parameters. A total of 36 system parameters were monitored which include RF generation, electron gun control, energy control, beam uniformity control, DC voltage generation, and cooling systems. The parameters were analyzed using Individual and Moving Range (I/MR) charts. The chart limits were calculated using a hybrid technique that included the use of the standard 3σ limits and the parameter/system specification. Synthetic errors/changes were introduced to determine the initial effectiveness of I/MR charts in detecting relevant changes in operating parameters. The magnitude of the synthetic errors/changes was based on: the value of 1 standard deviation from the mean operating parameter of 483 TB systems, a small fraction (≤ 5%) of the operating range, or a fraction of the minor fault deviation. Results: There were 34 parameters in which synthetic errors were introduced. There were 2 parameters (radial position steering coil, and positive 24V DC) in which the errors did not exceed the limit of the I/MR chart. The I chart limit was exceeded for all of the remaining parameters (94.2%). The MR chart limit was exceeded in 29 of the 32 parameters (85.3%) in which the I chart limit was exceeded. Conclusion: Statistical process control I/MR evaluation of text log file parameters may be effective in providing an early warning of performance degradation or component failure for digital medical accelerator systems. Research is Supported by Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗