Engineering Commons^™

A Tessellation Of Engineers, Grace Jenkins Welsh

University Honors Theses

A capstone project is the culmination of what a student has learned while pursuing an undergraduate degree. A project of this magnitude requires a lot of time and dedication from every member of the team. This essay looks back at the experience of an electrical engineering student participating in the design of an auxiliary power and protection of a planned substation. The author describes the team's work, how they performed as a team, and their involvement with the professional sponsor and advisor. The author examines the experience with the goal of informing and encouraging prospective engineering students who may be …

Hybrid Photovoltaic + Battery Energy System Grid-Tied Converter Capstone Review Thesis, Archer Taylor

University Honors Theses

Hybrid power converters present an opportunity to more efficiently harness energy from renewable sources. This paper reviews an undergraduate senior capstone project with the goal of designing and verifying the benefits of a hybrid converter, combining a photovoltaic array, battery energy system and a DC-AC inverter. The author recounts their experience throughout the 6 month period, detailing the research and design process followed by the prototype testing. Additionally, they reflect on the struggles of the capstone team and how to apply the learnings in the future.

Development Of A Configurable Real-Time Event Detection Framework For Power Systems Using Swarm Intelligence Optimization, Umar Farooq

Dissertations and Theses

Modern power systems characterized by complex topologies require accurate situational awareness to maintain an adequate level of reliability. Since they are large and spread over wide geographical areas, occurrence of failures is inevitable in power systems. Various generation and transmission disturbances give rise to a mismatch between generation and demand, which manifest as frequency events. These events can take the form of negligible frequency deviations or more severe emergencies that can precipitate cascading outages, depending on the severity of the disturbance and efficacy of remedial action schema. The impacts of such events have become more critical with recent decline in …

Modeling And Analysing The Impact Of Heat Pump Water Heaters On Distribution Systems Using Gridlab-D, Midrar Adham

Dissertations and Theses

With the constant increase in energy demand, finding ways to reduce peak load and the energy-costs factors has become more imperative. Domestic water heating showcases a significant opportunity for such applications. Water heating is the second-highest energy consumer in the residential sector across the United States. Electric Water Heaters (EWHs), in particular, constitute nearly 43% of American household water heating energy consumption. Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH), on the other hand, is an advanced water heating technology that has recently emerged in the United States residential market.

The objectives of this work are to develop a HPWH model and build …

Development Of A Testing Station For Grid-Interactive Smart Inverter Systems, Yudong Lan

Dissertations and Theses

As renewable energy penetration increases within the electrical power grid, flexible power is required to ensure reliability. Reliability can be jeopardized by the fluctuation and non-dispatch ability of renewable generators. This instability is caused by an imbalance between the amount of power produced and the amount of power consumed. Grid-enabled battery inverter systems are considered a solution to offset voltage and frequency fluctuations, which arise due to this power imbalance.

The objective of this work is to develop a system for testing grid-enabled inverters. These inverters use one or more communication standards to control their interactions with the grid. This …

The Effect Of A Ferrite-Core Relay Vs. An Air-Core Relay On The Output Power Characteristics Of A Three-Coil Wireless Power Transfer System, Jakob L. White

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the effect of using a ferrite-core relay on the output power characteristics of a three-coil, parallel-tuned, domino-resonator wireless power transfer (WPT) system in comparison to the effect of using an air-core relay in such a system. First, a general mathematical model is presented to describe both the ferrite-core-relay system and the air-core-relay system and to calculate their output power characteristics for seven different resistive loads at each of five different distance configurations between the coils. Next, experimental results are analyzed and compared to the mathematical results to confirm model accuracy. Finally, the …

Method Of Modeling The Swing Equation Using Time Synchronized Measurements, Robert Matthew Ferraro

Dissertations and Theses

In three phase, high-voltage transmission systems, synchronous generators accelerate or decelerate to adapt to changing power transfer requirements that occur during system disturbances. In network electrical power systems, frequency changes constantly based on system dynamics. Modeling network dynamics from oscillations and transients using time-synchronized measurements can provide real-time information, including angular displacements, voltage and current phasors, frequency changes, and rate of signal system decay from positive-sequence components.

Power system voltage and current waveforms are not steady-state sinusoids, especially during system disturbances. These waveforms contain sustained harmonic and non-harmonic components. Additionally, because of faults and other switching electromagnetic transients, there may …

Power Distribution System Tools For Analyzing Impacts Of Projected Electric Vehicle Load Growth Using Gridlab-D, Shahad Alomani

Dissertations and Theses

The increased penetration of Electric Vehicle (EV) will provide substantial benefits to the environment. However, each EV will present a significant additional load to electric power distribution infrastructure, especially to radial distribution feeders. The additional load may cause transformers to operate beyond their thermal limits, unacceptable voltage drops along distribution lines, and primary conductor overloads. It is now, more than ever, vital to understand the limitations of existing infrastructure in light of an accelerating push for greener alternatives with insight that stems from modeling, simulation, and proper analysis as the backbone to a well-informed response.

The objective of this work …

Evaluating R&D Projects In Regulated Utilities: The Case Of Power Transmission Utilities, Edwin Garces

Dissertations and Theses

R&D project selection is essential for many organizations; however, it is a complex decision since it is affected by many factors. These factors vary among organizations because of their different objectives and conditions. There are limited budgets for the investments, and the current R&D project selection methods are focused on financial analysis or complex mathematical probabilistic calculations. Therefore, the main motivation of this research is to create a method to help improve the ex-ante selection of R&D projects in regulated organizations. More importantly, the case application is the electric transmission utilities sector, which plays one of the most critical roles …

Aggregation Of Electric Water Heaters For Peak Shifting And Frequency Response Services, Thomas Leighton Clarke

Dissertations and Theses

The increased penetration of renewable energy sources poses new challenges for grid stability. The stochastic and uncontrollable generation of solar and wind power cannot be adjusted to match the load profile, and the transition away from traditional synchronous generators is reducing the grid capacity to arrest and recover from frequency disturbances.

Additionally, the distributed nature of many renewable energy sources makes centralized control of generation more complicated. The traditional power system paradigm balances the supply and demand of electricity on the grid by regulating generation. As this becomes more difficult, one alternative is to adjust the load instead. This is …

Technology Planning For Aligning Emerging Business Models And Regulatory Structures: The Case Of Electric Vehicle Charging And The Smart Grid, Kelly R. Cowan

Dissertations and Theses

Smart grid has been described as the Energy Internet: Where Energy Technology meets Information Technology. The incorporation of such technology into vast existing utility infrastructures offers many advantages, including possibilities for new smart appliances, energy management systems, better integration of renewable energy, value added services, and new business models, both for supply- and demand-side management. Smart grid also replaces aging utility technologies that are becoming increasingly unreliable, as the average ages for many critical components in utility systems now exceed their original design lives. However, while smart grid offers the promise of revolutionizing utility delivery systems, many questions remain about …

The Social Acceptance Of Community Solar: A Portland Case Study, Anne Weaver

Dissertations and Theses

Community solar is a renewable energy practice that's been adopted by multiple U.S. states and is being considered by many more, including the state of Oregon. A recent senate bill in Oregon, called the "Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan", includes a provision that directs the Oregon Public Utility Commission to establish a community solar program for investor-owned utilities by late 2017. Thus, energy consumers in Portland will be offered participation in community solar projects in the near future. Community solar is a mechanism that allows ratepayers to experience both the costs and benefits of solar energy while also helping …

Impact Analysis Of Increased Dispatchable Resources On A Utility Feeder In Opendss, Crystal Eppinger

Dissertations and Theses

Oregon utilities are replacing their portfolios of traditional fossil fuel generation with renewable generating sources. Stepping away from carbon-producing energy will leave a deficit of on-demand power, resulting in decreased reliability. To overcome these technical challenges, utilities must maximize the use of their present dispatchable resources. One such resource is the Portland General Electric (PGE) Dispatchable Standby Generation Program (DSG), which is an aggregated 105 MWs of distributed generation (DG). These resources are brought on-line when there is a critical need for power. Resources are added to the program if a transfer trip scheme is in place or a modeling …

Generalized Differential Calculus And Applications To Optimization, R. Blake Rector

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis contains contributions in three areas: the theory of generalized calculus, numerical algorithms for operations research, and applications of optimization to problems in modern electric power systems. A geometric approach is used to advance the theory and tools used for studying generalized notions of derivatives for nonsmooth functions. These advances specifically pertain to methods for calculating subdifferentials and to expanding our understanding of a certain notion of derivative of set-valued maps, called the coderivative, in infinite dimensions. A strong understanding of the subdifferential is essential for numerical optimization algorithms, which are developed and applied to nonsmooth problems in operations …

Building Energy Model Calibration For Retrofit Decision Making, Nicolas R. Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Accommodating the continued increase in energy demand in the face of global climate change has been a worldwide concern. With buildings in the US consuming nearly 40% of national energy, a concerted effort must be given to reduce building energy consumption. As new buildings continue to improve their efficiency through more restrictive energy codes, the other 76.9 billion square feet of current building stock falls further behind. The rate at which current buildings are being retrofit is not enough and better tools are needed to access the benefits of retrofits and the uncertainties associated with them. This study proposes a …

Power-Aware Datacenter Networking And Optimization, Qing Yi

Dissertations and Theses

Present-day datacenter networks (DCNs) are designed to achieve full bisection bandwidth in order to provide high network throughput and server agility. However, the average utilization of typical DCN infrastructure is below 10% for significant time intervals. As a result, energy is wasted during these periods. In this thesis we analyze traffic behavior of datacenter networks using traces as well as simulated models. Based on the insight developed, we present techniques to reduce energy waste by making energy use scale linearly with load. The solutions developed are analyzed via simulations, formal analysis, and prototyping. The impact of our work is significant …

Configuring The Urban Smart Grid: Transitions, Experimentation, And Governance, Anthony Michael Levenda

Dissertations and Theses

In the face of challenges of energy security, decarbonization, resilience, and the replacement of aging infrastructure systems, federal, state, and local actors are facilitating the development of smart electricity networks to transition towards a more sustainable electricity system. In the United States, development of "smart grids" is being pursued as a national policy mandate and goal, promising that the deployment of smart grid technologies -- referring in general to digital information and communication technologies that sense, monitor, control and manage the electric grid -- will make electricity systems more environmentally sustainable and reliable, and at the same time, provide opportunities …

Determining The Power And Energy Capacity Of A Battery Energy Storage System Utilizing A Smoothing Feeder Profile To Accommodate High Photovoltaic Penetration On A Distribution Feeder, Osama Mohammed Abbas Aly Mansour

Dissertations and Theses

Electricity is a perishable commodity; once it is generated it needs to be consumed or stored. Electric energy storage provides both power and energy capacity. Power capacity applications reduce the need for generation, while energy capacity allows for energy consumption to be decoupled from generation. Previous research was done to develop an algorithm for determining the power (MW) and energy (MWh) capacities of a battery energy storage system (BESS) to mitigate the adverse impacts of high levels of photovoltaic (PV) generation. The algorithm used a flat feeder profile, and its performance was demonstrated on the equinoxes and solstices.

Managing feeder …

Wake Character In The Wind Turbine Array: (Dis-)Organization, Spatial And Dynamic Evolution And Low-Dimensional Modeling, Nicholas Michael Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

To maximize the effectiveness of the rapidly increasing capacity of installed wind energy resources, new models must be developed that are capable of more nuanced control of each wind turbine so that each device is more responsive to inflow events. Models used to plan wind turbine arrays and control behavior of devices within the farm currently make questionable estimates of the incoming atmospheric flow and update turbine configurations infrequently. As a result, wind turbines often operate at diminished capacities, especially in arrays where wind turbine wakes interact and inflow conditions are far from ideal. New turbine control and wake prediction …

A Utility-Scale Deployment Project Of Behind-The-Meter Energy Storage For Use In Ancillary Services, Energy Resiliency, Grid Infrastructure Investment Deferment, And Demand-Response Integration, Joseph Nathanael Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

Electric utilities are increasingly incentivized to integrate new renewable energy generation resources to their systems; however, operations-related issues arise due to the non-dispatchable and stochastic nature of these renewable energy sources. These characteristics lead to a variety of issues for utilities, among which are voltage fluctuations, balancing dispatch against ramping events, short-duration power fluctuations, and the need to invest in peaking generation facilities just to accommodate the renewable energy. A traditional solution to these issues is to employ renewable generation-following techniques using either newly constructed gas peaking plants, or by shifting existing generation resources to this following responsibility. Unfortunately, use …

The Investigation And Optimization Of A Two-Heat-Pump System Incorporating Thermal Storage For Shaping Residential Heating Load, Emily Lord Barrett

Dissertations and Theses

Portland General Electric has proposed coupling one or more water tanks with two heat pumps in order to perform load-shifting in residential customer heating and cooling applications. By using the water tanks as a thermal storage unit, this project attempts to partially decouple energy consumption from generation to provide peak demand reduction and to better facilitate the integration of variable renewable energy resources. A scoping study was performed to evaluate the potential impact of this project if implemented in single family homes in Portland, Oregon. This study revealed that the system could provide meaningful savings in the cost of electricity …

Event Detection Using Correlation Within Arrays Of Streaming Pmu Data, Jordan Landford

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis provides a synchrophasor data analysis methodology that leverages both statistical correlation techniques and a statistical distribution in order to identify data inconsistencies, as well as power system contingencies. This research utilizes archived Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) data obtained from the Bonneville Power Administration in order to show that this methodology is not only feasible, but extremely useful for power systems monitoring, decision support, and planning purposes.

By analyzing positive sequence voltage angles between a pair of PMUs at two different substation locations, an historic record of correlation is established. From this record, a Rayleigh distribution of correlation coefficients …

The Effects Of Phosphonic Acids In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Keith Edward James

Dissertations and Theses

Novel methods for the construction of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were developed. A thin dense underlayer of TiO₂ was applied on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using as a precursor Tyzor AA-105. Subsequently a mesoporous film of P-25 TiO₂ was applied by spreading a suspension uniformly over the surface of the underlayer and allowing the plate to slowly dry while resting on a level surface. After sintering at 500° C slides were treated with TCPP as a sensitizing dye and assembled into DSSCs. A novel method was used to seal the cells; strips of Parafilm® were used as …

A Combined Energy And Geoengineering Optimization Model (Ceagom) For Climate Policy Analysis, John George Anasis

Dissertations and Theses

One of the greatest challenges that will face humanity in the 21^st century is the issue of climate change brought about by emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy use is one of the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is also one of the most important contributors to improved human welfare over the past two centuries and will continue to be so for years to come. This quandary has led a number of researchers to suggest that geoengineering may be required in order to allow for continued use of fossil fuels while at the same time mitigating the …

Time-Variant Load Models Of Electric Vehicle Chargers, Nicole P. Zimmerman

Dissertations and Theses

In power distribution system planning, it is essential to understand the impacts that electric vehicles (EVs), and the non-linear, time-variant loading profiles associated with their charging units, may have on power distribution networks. This research presents a design methodology for the creation of both analytical and behavioral models for EV charging units within a VHDL-AMS simulation environment.

Voltage and current data collected from Electric Avenue, located on the Portland State University campus, were used to create harmonic profiles of the EV charging units at the site. From these profiles, generalized models for both single-phase (Level 2) and three-phase (Level 3) …

Vortex Identification In The Wake Of A Wind Turbine Array, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Aseyev

Dissertations and Theses

Vortex identification techniques are used to analyze the flow structure in a 4 x 3 array of scale model wind turbines. Q-criterion, Δ-criterion, and λ₂-criterion are applied to Particle Image Velocimetry data gathered fore and aft of the last row centerline turbine. Q-criterion and λ₂-criterion provide a clear indication of regions where vortical activity exists while the Δ-criterion does not. Galilean decomposition, Reynolds decomposition, vorticity, and swirling strength are used to further understand the location and behavior of the vortices. The techniques identify and display the high magnitude vortices in high shear zones resulting from the …

Global Time-Independent Agent-Based Simulation For Transactive Energy System Dispatch And Schedule Forecasting, Shawn Aaron Chandler

Dissertations and Theses

Electricity service providers (ESP) worldwide have increased their interest in the use of electrical distribution, transmission, generation, storage, and responsive load resources as integrated systems. Referred to commonly as "smart grid," their interest is driven by widespread goals to improve the operations, management and control of large-scale power systems. In this thesis I provide research into a novel agent-based simulation (ABS) approach for exploring smart grid system (SGS) dispatch, schedule forecasting and resource coordination. I model an electrical grid and its assets as an adaptive ABS, assigning an agent construct to every SGS resource including demand response, energy storage, and …

Substation Bay Modeling And Seismic Sensitivity Study, Robert C.H. London

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

The performance of high voltage electrical substations during an earthquake significantly contributes to regional resilience by providing electrical power to public entities, businesses and homes following an earthquake. Utilities try to minimize the seismic impact by qualifying individual equipment, but rarely evaluate the interconnected substation bay as a whole. In this study, three detailed numerical models were developed using the seismic qualification reports of individual electrical equipment as basis for the components within 115kV, 230kV, and 500 kV substation bay systems. The substation bays were evaluated without interconnectivity of the components and with rigid bus connectivity between components. The models …

Last Mile Asset Monitoring: Low Cost Rapid Deployment Asset Monitoring, Zdenek Zumr

Dissertations and Theses

Installation and utilization of residential distribution transformers has not changed substantially over a long period of time. Utilities typically size their transformers based on a formula that takes into account broadly what types and how many dwellings will be connected.

Most new residential dwellings feature 200 Amp service per household with an anticipated energy demand of under 20,000 kWh per year. Average electrical energy consumption varies from state to state but averages to 11,280 kWh per year. Energy demand is expected to fall into a typical residential load curve that shows increased demand early in the morning, then decreasing during …

An Assessment Model For Energy Efficiency Program Planning In Electric Utilities: Case Of The Pacific Of Northwest U.S.A., Ibrahim Iskin

Dissertations and Theses

Energy efficiency stands out with its potential to address a number of challenges that today's electric utilities face, including increasing and changing electricity demand, shrinking operating capacity, and decreasing system reliability and flexibility. Being the least cost and least risky alternative, the share of energy efficiency programs in utilities' energy portfolios has been on the rise since the 1980s, and their increasing importance is expected to continue in the future. Despite holding great promise, the ability to determine and invest in only the most promising program alternatives plays a key role in the successful use of energy efficiency as a …