Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, a novel fast straightforward method for thermal generating units scheduling is presented. The new method decomposes the solution of the unit commitment (UC) problem into three subproblems. In the first subproblem, the quadratic cost functions of units are linearized and hourly optimum solution of UC is obtained considering all constraints except the minimum up/down time constraints. In the second subproblem, the minimum up/down times are enforced through a novel optimization process by modifying the schedule obtained in the first step. Finally, in the third subproblem, the extra reserve is minimized using a new decommitment algorithm. For testing the proposed method, the... 

On pool market structure, the generating units are typically dispatched in order of lowest to highest bid as needed to meet demand requirement as well as considering network constraints. Generally, no account is taken of generating unit's reliability when scheduling them. This paper proposes a new structure for electricity market to consider generating unit's reliability in the scheduling problem. GAMS (General Algebraic Modeling System) language has been used to solve the social welfare maximization problem using CPLEX optimization software with mixed integer programming. ©2006 IEEE  

This study presents a comprehensive control framework to ensure desired loading margin (LM) while minimising the corresponding control cost. The proposed framework is divided into corrective control (CC) and preventive control (PC) subproblems. The CC subproblem deals with the condition that a power system encounters voltage instability as a result of severe contingencies. This control is merely devised to restore system stability. The PC subproblem is brought up when the system operates in a stable region but its LM is insufficient. In this manner, the system-operating point is changed such that the desired LM is achieved. One of the features of the proposed methodology is to consider... 

This study proposes an imperialist competition algorithm (ICA) to maximise the benefits of distribution network operators (DNOs) because of the existence of distributed generation (DG) units. The sum of active loss reduction and network investment deferral incentives has been considered as the objective function to be maximised in this study. The optimal location and size of DG units in the network are found considering various techno-economical issues. The application of the proposed methodology in the UK under current Ofgem financial incentives for DNOs is investigated. The ability of the proposed approach in finding the optimal solution is validated by comparing the obtained results with... 

A method for the reduction of interactions in linear time invariant (LTI) multivariable uncertain systems is proposed. An H∞-norm metric is proposed for the assessment of interactions in interval uncertain multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) plants. Based on this, a procedure for the design of fixed-order dynamic decoupling precompensators for MIMO plants with interval uncertainty is outlined which can be solved using efficient solvers such as CVX. The proposed methodology is used to develop a low-order robust multivariable controller for voltage and frequency control of an islanded distributed generation (DG) unit. Copyright © 2017 by ASME  

Optimal placement of switches can play a key role in providing resilience to power distribution systems against major faults caused by natural disasters. This study presents a resilience-based framework for optimal switch placement in distribution systems being consistent with the expansion plans of distributed generation units. At first, the impact of hurricanes on distribution system components is modelled using the geographic information system of distribution grid and the strength of components against extreme weather-related events. Then, a new resiliency index is proposed to assess the resilience of distribution grids. This index is involved in a mathematical model of the switch... 

The escalated penetration of wind energy in the electric industry has by large contributed to an intensified uncertainty and variability of the net-load, i.e., the difference between stochastic demand and intermittent supply. In response, some Independent System Operators (ISOs) have recently introduced the Flexible Ramping Product (FRP) to heighten the grid flexibility via effective hosting of the uncertain renewables. This paper suggests a novel framework for optimal FRP provision in real-time markets (RTM) in which the shortage in the RTM ramp capacity is compensated by optimal deployment of day-ahead procured spinning reserve. In the envisioned mechanism, the ISO can deploy specific... 

Warm-up period is considered as the most critical phase in the operation of any device that converts the energy of a fuel into heat, electricity, and other products, including power generation units since the system efficiency and environmental pollution levels are much worse than the normal operation in that phase. Considering this point, in this study, applying the zero-flow coolant strategy to reduce the warm-up period is suggested for power generation units and it is investigated in details. An internal combustion engine is selected as the case-study and implementation of the method to enhance the performance of that from both energy and environmental aspects are studied comprehensively.... 

This article introduces a novel duty-cycle control circuit (DCC) preceding a delay-locked loop (DLL)-based clock frequency multiplier preventing the output duty-cycle over process, supply voltage and temperature (PVT) variations. However, the proposed DCC eliminates the effect of input duty-cycle variation and, hence, decreases the sensitivity to the input jitter and distortion. The circuit realisation in 0.5-μm CMOS technology shows that the duty-cycle variation at the output clock is less than 2.7%, while driving the digital section of a CODEC chip and also test pads. The analysis, confirmed by measurements, shows a stable and accurate response for the proposed clock generation unit (CGU).... 

Employing more flexibility in power systems is one of the main challenges brought about by integrating more renewable energy sources in power systems. A promising way to overcome this challenge is to have local sources of flexibility in distribution level. In this respect, a novel approach is introduced in this paper for multi-stage distribution system expansion planning which jointly considers expansion of the network assets as well as flexibility enhancement. To this end, construction and reinforcement of feeders and substations are considered as various alternatives for network expansion. Moreover, installation of conventional dispatchable distributed generation units is selected as the... 

Maintenance scheduling of generating units in restructured power systems is a collaborative and interactive process between independent system operators (ISOs) and generating companies (GENCOs). The ISO should comply with GENCO maintenance preferences subject to targeted system reliability levels. This process might be multistage since the admission of all initial unit outage requests may threaten system reliability. Hence, the ISO accepts some proposals and determines alternatives for the remaining units. The GENCOs are then allowed to confirm the alternatives or revise them. In this paper the ISO problem of generating unit maintenance scheduling is tackled. The objective function is to... 

This paper presents an effective control strategy for autonomous operation of a multi-bus medium voltage (MV) microgrid (MG) consisting of several dispatchable distributed generation (DG) units. Each electronically-coupled DG unit supplies the loads which can be unbalanced due to the inclusion of single-phase loads. The proportional resonance (PR) and droop controllers are, respectively, used to regulate the load voltage and share the average powers among the DG units. The virtual negative-sequence impedance controller (VNSIC) is proposed to effectively compensate the negative-sequence currents of the unbalanced loads. Moreover, the VNSIC minimizes the negative-sequence currents in the MV... 

This paper presents a stochastic framework for short-term operation of a distribution company (disco). The proposed framework optimizes disco's operational decisions in two hierarchical stages. The first stage, called day-ahead operation stage (DAOS), deals with the operational decisions on purchases from the day-ahead market and commitment of distributed generation (DG) units. The objective of this stage is to minimize the expected operating cost while the financial risk exposed by uncertain real-time prices and loads is restricted to a given level. The model associated with this stage is based on the mixed-integer programming (MIP) format. The second stage, named real-time operation stage... 

This paper presents an effective voltage control strategy for the autonomous operation of a medium voltage (MV) microgrid under nonlinear and unbalanced load conditions. The main objectives of this strategy are to effectively compensate the harmonic and negative-sequence currents of nonlinear and unbalanced loads using distributed generation (DG) units. The proposed control strategy consists of a multi-proportional resonant controller (MPRC) whose parameters are assigned with particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The optimization function is defined to minimize the tracking error at the specific harmonics considering the stability limitations. In this paper the performance of the... 

Reducing the emissions produced by the electric power production may be one of the most challenging problems of the electricity sector in the coming future. As one of the potential solutions, demand response (DR) can play an important role to reduce emissions and costs associated with emission reduction activities. This paper aims to assess the short-term impacts of running a DR program on a power system constrained by emissions caps. The DR program is designed to procure operating reserve from demand-side participants. A day-ahead network-constrained market clearing model with emission cap constraints is used as the assessment tool, where the DR program participants along with generating... 

This paper presents a novel approach for small signal stability assessment of a multi-machine system using only synchronized Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) data. The proposed method does not need any information about the generators, network configuration or line impedances. By installing one PMU on each generator bus and using classical model for generator, all of the network and generators parameters needed for small signal stability analysis are estimated using the ambient data registered in the PMUs. Least square error estimation is used to obtain a reduced admittance matrix for the network in real-time. The estimated model is then used to evaluate the multi machine system dynamics in... 

Pre-compensators are used in multivariable control systems to reduce (or eliminate) open loop system interactions. Classical methods for the design of pre-compensator are traditionally based on static designs. Static pre-compensators are preferred for their simplicity, but are highly unsystematic in the amounts of achievable diagonal dominance. In many applications, only the more powerful dynamic pre-compensators are able to deliver the desired amounts of decoupling. This paper proposes a new method for the design of dynamic pre-compensators which is based on a Quadratic Programming (QP) optimization. Using the proposed approach the total pre-compensator is found through several smaller... 

In this paper, a new bidding strategy for pay-as-bid market suppliers is introduced. This method is based on a systematic analysis of interactions of market with the suppliers via several market indices as well as forecasting important indices by artificial neural networks. Besides, the proposed method considers the practical limitations in the system and deals with incomplete information handling, closely. Next, a strategic bidding approach is proposed for optimal bidding by the suppliers. In these investigations, the paper focus is on the experimental situation of Iran electricity market as a pay-as-bid market and a sample generating company with several generating units from this market... 

As a high proportion of the total generated electricity energy and the power system costs is due to the power losses in lines, allocating the loss and associated cost to the system loads and generating units is a substantial issue in deregulated power systems. The procedure to accomplish this cost allocation is designated as 'loss cost allocation' (LCA). So far, a number of LCA methods have been proposed for transmission networks. A few papers have compared different loss allocation methods, which are the methods which calculate the loss (and not necessarily the loss cost) allocated to the loads and generating units. However, this paper presents a comparative study of LCA methods. In this...