Sharif Digital Repository

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology provides one of the most promising solutions to tackle the threatening challenges such as air pollution in urban areas. Dramatic increases in the number of PHEVs could have major impacts on power system operations because of their high electricity demand. From the distribution system operator facet, distribution system congestion during PHEVs charging is an economic and security concern. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate the effects of widespread using of PHEVs on the performance of distribution networks. In this paper, PHEV characteristics are exactly studied and a comprehensive model for investigation of PHEV impacts is achieved.... 

In a practical power system, automating all the substations is neither affordable nor economically justifiable. On the other hand, the trend for electric power subsidies elimination in some regions, such as Iran, aggravates this situation. To enhance the cost effectiveness of distribution automation system, this paper proposes a novel applicable qualitative-quantitative method using analytical hierarchical process (AHP) to find the optimum placement of remote terminal units (RTU). Entire attempt is to contribute all the crucial technical and practical parameters related to this problem in order to find the most reliable solution. Optimum number of RTUs is determined using the concepts of... 

One of the most relevant negative characteristics of high-capacity cathodes for lithium batteries is indeed non-flat voltage-time (V-t) or voltage-capacity (V-C) behaviour during charge-discharge. A clear rationale for this behaviour has not yet been addressed in the literature. Here, by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations corroborated by basic experimental electrochemical characterization, we investigated both the thermodynamic and the kinetic aspects relevant to voltage variations during charge-discharge of Li2FeSiO4 intended as a model case. A simple physical model allowed us to take into account all the experimental evidence. We suggested that voltage deviations from... 

Fast charging stations are vital components for public acceptance of electric vehicle (EV). The stations are connected to the electric grid and can recharge an electric vehicle in less than 20. min. Charging station development is highly influenced by the government policy in allocating station development costs. This paper presents a Mixed-Integer Non-Linear (MINLP) optimization approach for optimal placing and sizing of the fast charging stations. The station development cost, EV energy loss, electric gird loss as well as the location of electric substations and urban roads are among the factors included in the proposed approach. Geographic information has been used to determine EV energy... 

Charge-discharge rate capability is one of the most important properties of cathode materials for lithium batteries, in particular when envisaging high power density applications such as automotive applications. Efforts to modify rate have been carried out by carbon coating and decreasing particle size in order to modify electronic and ionic conductivity. However, this approach cannot justify all experimental data reported in the literature. Here, we investigated the rate capability of cathode materials by considering their density of states (DOS) calculated by several density functional theory (DFT) methods, in both the lithiated and the delithiated case. We suggested that these structures... 

The present study was aimed at performance and energy analysis of a hybrid wind-hydrogen power system. Such system consists of wind turbines, batteries for the short time energy storage, electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank for long time energy storage. The proposed configuration is used to supply energy demand of a region with discrete seasonal wind speed regime. Temporary wind energy profiles restrict using batteries for electricity storage as they lose much electrical stored energy for the long time. Based on direct wind turbine usage, batteries and hydrogen storage, different energy supply strategies are introduced and analyzed to power the household electricity demand. The energy... 

In this research, an attempt was made to improve TiO2 photo-catalyst properties, thus pure, N-Ce co-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on glass-ceramic substrate using a sol-gel dip-coating technique. The samples were calcinated in air at 475 °C, 550°C, and 650°C for 2 h. The result of simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the presence of Ce in TiO2 could inhibit the phase transformation from anatase to rutile and enhance the thermal stability, and anatase was the dominant phase in N-Ce co-doped TiO2 samples. Also based on the results, the doping results in decreasing the size of TiO 2 crystallite. The results of ultra violet-visible light diffuse... 

DC microgrids (DC-MGs) are becoming popular as an effective means to integrate various renewable energy resources. Conventionally, the droop control is adopted as a decentralized control strategy for proper power sharing without using any communication link. However, the conventional droop control often deteriorates due to the effects of unequal line resistances. In this paper, a control strategy is proposed for a DC-MG to achieve perfect power sharing considering the effects of line resistances. The DC-MG under study consists of a photovoltaic system, two energy storage systems, a grid-connected converter system, and dc loads. The control strategy of the converters is addressed under... 

The corrosion behavior of different grades of commercial aluminum such as AA1040, AA5083, AA6060 and AA7075 in ZnO-containing 4 M NaOH has been determined by using open circuit potential-time measurements (OCP), galvanostatic and potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) reveal that ZnO produces the inhibition effect by the formation of a zinc-containing deposit layer on the surface of aluminum electrodes. Although the influence of zincating on the performance of aluminum alloys and considering the amount of alloying elements such as zinc, magnesium and... 

Multi-site photoplethysmography is an optoelectronic technique that measures changes in blood volume associated with cardiac contraction. Photoplethysmogram (PPG) recording enables researchers to study the vascular and hemodynamic properties of human subjects. Currently, there is no commercial system available in the market to perform multi-channel PPG recording. The measurements can be obtained from fingertips, ear lobes and toes due to their low absorption and high degree of vasculature. The main objective of this project is to develop a suitable data compression algorithm for two-channel simultaneous high resolution wireless PPG recording system. MATLAB software was used during the... 

We report improved performance of Li-ion polymer batteries through advanced gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). Compared to solid and liquid electrolytes, GPEs are advantageous as they can be fabricated in different shapes and geometries; also ionic properties are significantly superior to that of solid and liquid electrolytes. We have synthetized GPE in form of membranes by trapping ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate in a composite of polyvinylidene fluoride and N-methylpyrrolidinore. By applying phase-transfer method, we synthetized membranes with micro-pores, which led to higher ionic conductivity. The proposed membrane is to be modified further to have higher capacity, stronger... 

Battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with bidirectional battery chargers are capable of supplying power to the electric grid according to power system demand. This technology is called 'vehicle to grid' or V2G. A bidirectional on-board charger can be used to improve the charge availability. An on-board charger should have small size and light weight. On the other hand, the charger must minimize power quality impact, draw current at high power factor to maximize power from an outlet. In this paper, a new three-phase integrated bidirectional isolated soft-switched battery charger is proposed which is appropriate for vehicle to grid technology. The charger utilizes a 4-switch... 

Fast fault detection (FD) and reconfiguration is necessary for fault tolerant power electronic converters in safety critical applications to prevent further damage and to make the continuity of service possible. The aim of this study is to minimize the number of the used additional voltage sensors in a fault tolerant three-phase converter. In this paper, first a practical implementation of a very fast FD scheme with reduced sensor number is discussed. Then, an optimization in this scheme is also presented to decrease the detection time. For FD, special time and voltage criterion are applied to observe the error in the estimated phase-to-phase voltages for a specific period of time. The... 

Implementation of various incentive-based and time-based load management strategies has great potential to decrease peak load growth and customer electricity bill cost. In recent years, developments in Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have provided various environmental and economic advantages. However, high penetration of electric vehicles in to the grid may cause high peak loads at different times of the days. Using advanced metering and automatic chargers makes it possible to optimize the charging cost, and release generation capacities to provide sustainable electricity supply. Using an appropriate encouraging program is a simple way for vehicle owners to manage their energy... 

SiO2-CaO-MgO glass and glass-ceramic powder doped with Nd 3+ were synthesized with sol-gel method. Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, Mg(NO 3)2·6H2O, Nd(NO3) 3·6H2O, ethanol, distilled water, and HNO 3 were used as starting materials. The synthesized powder's properties were examined with simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The STA curves showed that the softening point and crystallization temperatures were shifted to higher temperatures with increasing dopant content. Regarding XRD patterns of glass samples, Nd was found to act as an intermediate oxide in glass matrix. The XRD... 

An accurate thermal model to predict the heat generation in rechargeable batteries is an essential tool for advanced thermal management in high power applications, such as electric vehicles. For such applications, the battery materials' details and cell design are normally not provided. In this work a simple, though accurate, thermal model for batteries has been developed, considering the temperature- and current-dependent overpotential heat generation and State-of-Charge dependent entropy contributions. High power rechargeable Li-ion (7.5 Ah) batteries have been experimentally investigated and the results are used for model verification. It is shown that the State-of-Charge dependent... 

Transition metal lithium orthosilicates are of interest as cathode materials for lithium batteries. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to evaluate the structural and electrochemical properties of the different polymorphs of Li2MnSiO4. Our computational studies predict superior properties for the Pmn21 polymorph even after extraction of two Li per formula unit. We state that the shortcomings observed for Li2MnSiO4 as a cathode are caused by two mechanisms. Switching of the magnetic state occurs during the first cycles. The subsequent transition, under delithiated conditions, from the Pmn21 or Pmnb polymorphs to the electrochemically weakest P21/n polymorph is the... 

Plug-In hybrid electric vehicles could be connected to the electrical grid to be recharged. To ease the charging process, one solution could use an on-board charger to charge the electric vehicle battery. This charger should be able to be connected to a conventional outlet for convenience reasons and moreover, it should be a grid friendly charger in order not to pollute the electrical network. Since most of the electric vehicle related projects are at their initial phases, keeping up with the pace and developing new technologies and proposing innovations and concepts will help growing the industry. In this regard, a new integrated bidirectional isolated soft-switched plug-in hybrid electric... 

The promotion of the adoption of renewable energies in deprived and remote areas can be considered as an important step towards reduction of threats to the loss of biodiversity through community mobilization. One important outcome is mitigation of the deforestation processes through firewood collection. The aim is achievement of sustainable development of the forest biodiversity, awareness raising and the capacity building for execution of similar projects. The social and economical aspects and the obstacles for execution of such project were investigated and guidelines were prepared to facilitate the promotion of renewable energy in similar small communities  

Miscellaneous sorts of renewable energies, despite of their positive impacts on the power system operation cost and environmental concerns, could jeopardize the system reliability due to introducing significant degrees of intermittency and uncertainty. This challenge could be overcome by composing various sources of renewable energies with complimentary natures. This paper devises an explicit mathematical framework to compromise the contribution of wind and solar energies. The optimization problem is to maximize the system reliability subject to a fixed monetary investment associated with both wind and solar. The problem formulation is based on mixed-integer programming (MIP) format in which...