Engineering Commons^™

Active Stability Monitoring And Stability Control Of Dc Microgrids Using Incremental Continuous Injection, Rohail Hassan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electrified transportation and integration of renewable energy in the electric power grid requires the use of power electronic converters for integrating different forms of power; from ac to dc, dc to ac, dc to dc, etc. Recent trend towards electrifying automobiles, aircraft and ships, and increasing penetration of renewable energy has increased the required power levels and number of the power electronics converters connected together in a dc microgrid system. Stable operation of these interfacing converters for all operating conditions has been a topic of renewed interest in the last couple of decades. Traditionally, dc microgrids have been designed conservatively …

Control Of Series Connected Battery Powered Modules, Joshua K. Wooten

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Batteries are a very common type of power source used for all sorts of applications. However, these batteries do not last forever. The purpose of this thesis is to explain and implement a strategy which allows batteries to have a second life; to be able to be re-charged and re-used for another set period of time once they no longer meet a system’s requirements. The preferable way to do this is to make each cell have the same state of charge (SOC) which will lead to a longer lasting battery pack. These batteries will be hooked up to a battery …

Autonomous Highway Systems Safety And Security, Imran Sajjad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis aims to address question of safety and security in autonomous highway systems. Chains of multiple self-driving vehicles (platoons) give rise to inherent vulnerabilities to attacks resulting from their control algorithms. These weaknesses can possibly result in collisions or decreased traffic flow.

This work first provides an overview of these vulnerabilities analyzed from a control systems perspective. The capabilities and extent of damage that an attack can cause are analyzed. Then some possible mitigation strategies are presented that can defend against these attacks.

Simulation results are provided to support the effectiveness of these controllers and an experimental validation is …

Vision-Based Control Of A Full-Size Car By Lane Detection, N. Chase Kunz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Self-driving cars are an area of increasing investment for researchers and auto manufacturers. Integration has already begun for such vehicles in urban environments. An essential aspect of navigation in these areas is the ability to sense and follow lane markers. This thesis focuses on the development of a self-driving, full-size, electric car which uses only a camera and lane markers to stay on the road. A complete method for automation is shown for a stock vehicle. Discussion includes reverse engineering of the steering, braking, and acceleration signals, as well as methods for lane detection and full-vehicle control.

Optimization And Control Of Lumped Transmitting Coil-Based In-Motion Wireless Power Transfer Systems, Nazmul Hasan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis explores optimization and control aspects of in-motion electric vehicle charging. The vision is of an electrified roadway, where the vehicles can move and charge at the same time. The present systems have long tracks embedded in the roadway which transfer energy. This thesis explores smaller coils in the road, which has the promise of higher efficiency and lower volt ampere ratings. The promise can only be realized through optimized design and synchronized control of charging with respect to vehicle position. The existing design procedures lack comprehensiveness, require designer experience and use computationally costly 3D FEM algorithms. The proposed …

Control Of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems Using Fractional Order Operators, Hadi Malek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work presents a new peak seeking strategy for maximum power point operation using fractional order operators in the three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic systems. Moreover, fractional order controllers have been implemented in the voltage and current control loops. The simulation results and theoretical analysis indicate that the proposed fractional order control strategy improves the efficiency of the system by reducing the total harmonic distortion of the injected current to the grid and increases the robustness of the system against uncertainties. Additionally, the proposed maximum power point tracking algorithms provide more robustness and faster convergence speed under environmental variations than other maximum …

An Efficiency-Motivated Attack Against Vehicles In A Platoon: Local Vehicle Control, Platoon Control Strategies, And Drive Train Technologies Considerations, David A. Cornelio Sosa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Automated Electric Transportation Group (AET) at Utah State University proposes to demonstrate the benefits and feasibility of vehicle platooning. A platoon is a transportation system, formed by vehicles that are controlled automatically by computers (the driver does not operate the vehicle while cruising). Platoons are interesting in view of the future because they present many advantages: increase highway capacity and safety, reduce travel time, save energy, and reduce stress for human drivers. There are many problems to solve in order to make vehicle platooning a reality. In this work, the focus is not on making it feasible, but rather …

Home Automation System, Joshua James Earl

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The home is the place where people should feel the most comfortable. Considerable technological development is dedicated to making the home more comfortable; smart appliances are a good example of this. There is always a market for products that provide easier control of home appliances and electrical devices. With this in mind, I have designed and implemented a PC-controlled Home Automation System (HAS). This HAS allows complete control of home appliances and electrical devices from the homeowner's IBM-compatible PC. make use of advanced technology in the transmission of the control signals by way of power-lines already present in the home. …