Electric Power Production Research Articles

Supply of Woody Residuals in the Northwest Region of Arkansas (2017) for Energy Production

Abstract Northwest Arkansas was identified as a region of interest for the production of wood-fueled electrical power due to its pervasive timber industry and need for cost-effective forest management. It is believed that by utilizing wood residuals produced from sawmill operations, a stable source of revenue could be provided to local wood processing businesses while simultaneously providing clean energy to the region. In order to evaluate the amount of available material available for energy production, all known mills were surveyed within the 16-county study region for their annual production of sawdust, slabs, and other residual products. Data on production of residuals were developed into supply curves and equations. Supply was found to be inelastic for both hardwood and softwood mill residuals in the region. Given that residual production is a secondary effect of timber processing, supply inelasticity is expected. Increasing the quantity of mill residuals in the region will likely be accompanied by greater-than-proportional price increases. We determined that 96,744 tons of ovendried material would be available annually for purchases at a delivered price of $38 per ton. With this quantity, the region could be expected to support a small combined heat and power energy facility with output between 5 and 10 MW.

Production and modeling of electric power assist wheelchair for outdoor use

Production and modeling of electric power assist wheelchair for outdoor use

Offshore Methane Hydrates in Japan: Prospects, Challenges and the Law

On 19 March 2013, Japan became the first-ever country to announce successful continuous-flow production of methane gas from a solid methane hydrate layer located under the seabed in ultra-deep waters, establishing the technical feasibility of this novel natural resource and of its novel extraction technology. Methane hydrates are a unique natural resource that could provide both a tremendous amount of natural gas and freshwater. Given this abundance of methane hydrate in both permafrost and in sub-seabed sediments, scientists in Japan have begun exploring how to combust the produced natural gas from methane hydrates to produce electricity and how the greenhouse gas emissions can be re-injected back within the hydrate reservoir system. Such a system could enable the production of carbon-neutral electrical power for dryland nations. Additionally, in a hydrogen fuel era, the freshwater can be converted to steam to use in generating hydrogen from the natural gas co-produced with the water. Thus, freshwater can be produced from offshore methane hydrates with co-production of natural gas; electrical power, hydrogen fuel, and carbon capture and storage can be implemented alongside the production activities. The extraction of methane hydrates from the seabed raises questions about various risks and hazards to the environment, including the potential of seafloor destabilization, submarine mudslides, and tsunami. Many of such risks and hazards are not present with the production of traditional natural gas. The regulatory scheme that would eventually govern extraction of natural gas from methane hydrate within Japan's 200nm continental shelf and EEZ may not be robust enough to deter these risks. This study examines the potential prospects and benefits from the commercial development of offshore methane hydrates in Japan and ascertains whether existing legal frameworks are sufficiently robust to address the foreseeable environmental risks posed by methane hydrate exploration and exploitation operations in Japan and beyond national jurisdictions.

Mechanical behaviour of wind turbines operating above design conditions

Improving production of electric power from renewable sources is fundamental in order to decrease the use of fossil fuels. A crucial aspect for future development of renewable sources is to guarantee competitive prices to end users and profitably economic returns to those who invest in these technologies. This can be reached by constantly surveying plants performances, optimizing the operative conditions and evaluating the possibility to implement upgrades. For what concerns wind turbines, there are many possibilities to increase power production. This study is focused on analyzing the HWRT (High Wind Ride Throughout) cut-out strategy: it is a method that allows extending the power curve of a wind turbine above the cut-out wind speed (25 m/s, typically) at which the wind turbine is abruptly shut down for structural integrity issues. The HWRT instead is a particular generator and pitch control strategy that maintains the turbine productive for higher wind speeds (up to at least 30 m/s) through a soft cut-out strategy. Starting with a reverse engineering approach, this study aims at creating a mathematical model of a real wind turbine operating with the HWRT control, and then evaluating the effects of this control strategy on stresses and structural vibrations. The point of view of this study fills a lack in the way this kind of issues is commonly approached in the wind energy practitioners community: actually, wind turbine power capture optimization strategies are typically assessed mainly by the point of view of the energy balance and insufficient attention is devoted to the mechanical aspects and the possible consequences on the wind turbine remaining useful lifetime. The research is structured in the following steps. At first, the wind turbine model is constructed and the characteristic dimensions, blade shapes and natural frequencies are found. Subsequently, with this information, aeroelastic simulations through the FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures and Turbulence) software are implemented and validated against operation data. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the impact of the soft cut-out strategy on structural health and fatigue.

Southern Iraq gas station conversation to integrated solar combined cycle

Iraq has a big shortage in the electrical system and this is because of repeated wars that have destroyed the country’s economy and infrastructure. In order to improve the situation and progress of the country we see that the exploitation of huge and neglected land, where Iraq has a very featured site can make it a factory for the production of electric power through the exploitation of the vast areas as fields of cells and solar plants to produce electricity. Iraq is characterized by the number of sunny hours during the year and estimated more than 3300 hours. Also, the solar radiation in Iraq, which exceeds 2000 kWh/m2. Where the production of electricity enough to meet the needs of Iraq and neighboring countries. In this paper we will discuss the development of gas station in southern Iraq by taking advantage of the sun’s rays falling and recycling of combustion products from the gas station. The plant consists of 200MW conventional gas turbine plant and two steam turbines of 75MW and 65MW powered by the solar field and gas turbine exhaust. With high insolation during the summer month of June the plant can achieve up to 25% of solar fraction with Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) plant.

Prediction model for day-ahead solar insolation using meteorological data for smart grid

In the overseas market, power generation and energy service companies have been engaged in the business of providing personalized trading services for the production of electric power through the Internet platform. This is, so that the electric power sharing system between individuals is being developed through the Internet platform. The prediction of insolation is essential for the prediction of power generation for photovoltaic systems. In this study, we present a prediction model for insolation from data observed at the Meteorological Administration. We also present basic data for the development of the insolation prediction model through meteorological parameters provided in future weather forecasts. The prediction model presented is for five years of observation of weather data in the Seoul area. The proposed model was trained by using the feed-forward neural networks, taking into account the daily climatic elements. To validate the reliability of the model, the root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE), and mean absolute error (MAE) were used for estimation. The results of this study can be used to predict the solar power generation system and to provide basic information for trading generated output by photovoltaic systems.

Feasibility Study to Install Wind Farm in Bab Al-Hawa, Irbid, Northwest of Jordan

The utilization of wind energy for power generation purposes is becoming increasingly attractive and gaining a great share in the electrical power production market worldwide. This research was considered a feasibility study of wind energy farm in Bab Al-Hawa, Irbid. The average wind speed in the site is (6.5 m/s). Data have been collected, which includes the average monthly wind speed for 10 years, but by HOMER software to create the hourly wind speed of a representative year is created in order to build Weibull distribution and to calculate the energy generated output of the project. This project contains the construction of 33 wind turbines in 3.11 km square. Each turbine has a capacity of 900 kW rated power and the total rated capacity is 29.7 MW. The capacity factor was found equal to 37.1% which means the amount of utilization of the turbine capacity. The results show that the turbines work 87,286 h/yr, and the total energy generated is 96.548559 GWh/yr. from the 33 wind turbines installed. The initial cost of this project is equal to 80.5243 M$ and the Payback period is 7 years. We have taken into account the environmental impact such as CO2 emissions into consideration. CO2 reductions by using wind energy instead of coal-fired plant are equal to 67124.4 tons, and the CO2 emissions reduction using wind power instead of fuel oil power plant is 5343.4 tons. This research shows that wind farm at Bab Al-Hawa with a capacity of 29.7 MW, 33 wind turbines, 900 kW each has been feasible with a cost of energy 4 cents/kWh.

A New Triple Bargaining Game-Based Energy Management Scheme for Hierarchical Smart Grids

This paper deals with the hierarchical structure of smart-grid systems. The major challenges of this structure are to balance electric power production and consumption within the hierarchical smart grid, and makes active use of the flexibility of a large number of power producing and consuming units. In this study, we present a new triple game based energy management scheme for the hierarchical smart-grid architecture. By using the Nash with claim, midpoint-constrained egalitarian and proportional bargaining solutions, the proposed approach can adaptively distribute the limited energy resource of smart-grid system. To reduce the computation complexity, these bargaining solutions are hierarchically applied based on the developed triple game model. According to the attractive characteristics of each bargaining solution, control decisions in our proposed scheme are mutually dependent on each other and can cause cascade interactions to reach a desirable system performance. The results obtained from the simulation analysis illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme compared with the existing state-of-the-art protocols. Finally, we conclude advantages of our triple game based energy management scheme and identify research areas for future study.

"Who Has Seen the Wind": Imagining Wind Power for the Generation of Electricity in Victorian Britain.

This article argues that discussion and construction of wind mills for the generation of electric power represent a sociotechnical imaginary which linked Victorian unease over waste and resource depletion with a conviction that technological systems that allowed more direct transfer of power than fossil fuels, in combination with widespread, even "unlimited availability" of wind, would provide the soundest and most responsible answer to the empire's energy challenges. Electrical specialists discussed and designed these systems amid critiques of steam, anxieties over coal depletion, and moral commitments to efficiency and sufficiency. Even though these systems were eclipsed by hydropower and fossil-fueled electric power production, this narrative questions the inevitability of fossil fuels in early and contemporary electric systems.

Визначення ефективності вироблення електричної енергії атомними електростанціями за методологією повних енергетичних витрат. Частина 3. Витрати енергії на експлуатацію, ліквідацію та визначення загальної ефективності

The results of determination of the efficiency of electric power production by nuclear power plants with WWER-1000 reactors according to the methodology of full energy costs are presented. The procedure for determining the efficiency of technologies by this methodology was published earlier. In part 1 of this article, which was published in the 2nd issue of «The Problems of General Energy» for 2018, one can find calculated values of the total energy costs for the construction of nuclear power plants. In part 2 of the article, which is published in the 3rd issue of «The Problems of General Energy» for 2018, we present the results of calculations of energy expenditure for the receipt of nuclear fuel, which is necessary for the work of NPP during its lifetime. Part 3 covers the questions of energy costs for the operation of a large NPP with a power of 3.0 GW and the cost of its decommissioning and determines the final characteristics of its energy efficiency. As a result of these calculations, it was established that the efficiency of power generation at NPPs in the case of invariable rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) relative to the foreign exchange rates at an average UAH inflation of 7.5% is practically zero. Namely, the coefficient of energy efficiency of power generation at NPPs has a level of 1.106, which is evidence of the almost total expenditure of energy produced by the NPP for its own existence and reproduction. This also shows the unprofitableness of targeting to the purchase of technologies, equipment and materials for the operation of power units for import at the NBU exchange rates. The efficiency of power generation at NPPs at the rate determined by the parity of the purchasing power of US dollar in Ukraine (energy efficiency factor is 1.88), shows that 88% of the electricity generated by this NPP is predicted to be useful for the people. This also indicates the efficiency of using domestic technologies, equipment and materials for the operation of power facilities.

Inter- and intra-annual variability of potential power production from wave energy converters

Estimation of the variability in the electrical power production and performance over the life-time of wave energy converters (WEC) is paramount for the economic viability of potential wave farm projects. In this research, the significance of the inter-annual variability in the potential production performance (PPP) is demonstrated, using power conversion matrices of ten pre-commercial WEC devices and an existing 31-year wave hindcast case study from the central shelf of New South Wales, Australia. The variability in the PPP over the intra- and inter-annual time scales is found to be comparable, hence indicating that making predictions merely based on annual and monthly averages could be misleading and that inter-annual fluctuations should be considered in future analysis. The results also show that inter-annual variations in WEC production performance can be significantly higher than that of the wave energy resource (WER) owing to the efficiency of different WECs relative to the local sea state conditions. We also demonstrate that optimization of WEC performance for the local sea state cannot only potentially lead to improved power yields but also a decrease in the intra- and inter-annual variability in PPP.

Exergetic Analysis of Hybrid Photovoltaic - Thermal Solar Collectors Coupled to Organic Rankine Cycles

In this work, the application of hybrid solar modules that combine photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors coupled with a low-temperature thermal cycle such as the Organic Rankine Cycle is discussed, their main purpose being an increase in the total electric power production per available area. This work will study the thermal and electrical power production efficiency of the hybrid system, the increase in the PV module electric conversion efficiency due to their cooling through heat transfer to the thermal cycle and the total exergetic efficiency of the system. A simplified simulation of the system in steady state conditions based on a thermal efficiency model will be performed with the aid of the EES (Engineering Equation Solver) software using climate data from Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The study shows that while the PV/T+ORC system does fulfill the purpose of increasing the electrical power generation both from the generator coupled to the thermal cycle and from the increase in the PV module efficiency due to its cooling. Thus, there is an increase the overall exergy efficiency of the system compared to uncoupled PV/T collectors.

The Energy Efficiency of Electric Energy as a Traction Used in Transport

Abstract The article deals with the problem of electric power production in terms of environmental impact, in particular the energy efficiency of its production to utilize primary sources. The efficiency of its production directly depends on the composition of primary sources and technologies used. Difference in efficiency by converting various forms of energy into electrical power and their ratio in the use directly affect the resulting efficiency, production of emissions and thus the environmental impact. Electric traction, its production, is burdened less efficient than other types of tractions used in transport, but at the final reconciliation of their consumption in vehicles, this difference decreases or delays because the vehicles themselves work with different conversion efficiency of its traction on mechanical work, vehicle driving.

Alternating catalytic reactions

The application of alternating current is advantageous in energy transfer over long distances. It is a well-known fact now, but subject of long conflict in the era of pioneering works in electric power production. There are also some processes in physical chemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, in biochemistry and related sciences, which take place in opposite directions, with consecutive alternations in time. However, the very existence of alternate reactions, now known as the oscillatory or oscillating reactions, has long been disputed because it was thought that it is contrary to the basic principles of thermodynamics. Nevertheless, according to our knowledge, there are no oscillatory reactions without catalytic loop as the essential part of a mechanism. There could be a fundamental rule that catalysis is necessary to generate oscillations in concentrations and reaction rates. Particularly, homogeneous oscillatory reactions are often subject of research as relatively simple systems with good chance to clearly define feedbacks responsible for instability phenomena. However, oscillations can at least equally often be found in heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Recently, changes in product selectivity was proved when Pd catalyzed carbonylation of phenylacetylene was moved to the oscillatory dynamic state. With this simple result, the doors are now open for wide spectrum of research projects and applications.

Study of the Operating Parameters of a Wind Power Plant with 0.75 MW Power under the Conditions of Tashkent Oblast

Aspects of the use of the first experimental wind power plant with a capacity of 0.75 МW in the conditions of Tashkent oblast are considered. The results of monitoring of electric power development by the wind power plant for the months of 2017–2018 are presented. According to the monitoring data, the ratio of electric power production at the installation for the period from September 2017 to July 2018 was 714.9 МW h.

Hybrid photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic cells for simultaneous production of chemical fuels and electrical power.

Harnessing solar energy to drive photoelectrochemical reactions is widely studied for sustainable fuel production and versatile energy storage over different timescales. However, the majority of solar photoelectrochemical cells cannot drive the overall photosynthesis reactions without the assistance of an external power source. A device for simultaneous and direct production of renewable fuels and electrical power from sunlight is now proposed. This hybrid photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic device allows tunable control over the branching ratio between two high-value products of solar energy conversion, requires relatively simple modification to existing photovoltaic technologies, and circumvents the photocurrent mismatches that lead to significant loss in tandem photoelectrochemical systems comprising chemically stable photoelectrodes. Our proof-of-concept device is based on a transition metal oxide photoanode monolithically integrated onto silicon that possesses both front- and backside photovoltaic junctions. This integrated assembly drives spontaneous overall water splitting with no external power source, while also producing electricity near the maximum power point of the backside photovoltaic junction. The concept that photogenerated charge carriers can be controllably directed to produce electricity and chemical fuel provides an opportunity to significantly increase the energy return on energy invested in solar fuels systems and can be adapted to a variety of architectures assembled from different materials.

Апробація виробництва сухого гранулята з нативного курячого посліду з подальшим його використанням для отриманні генераторного газу та електроенергії

Актуальність дослідження обумовлена необхідністю пошуку можливостей переробки органічних відходів на біогаз, тверде біопаливо, біодобриво та ін. В Україні накопичення органічних відходів постійно зростає, а переробка відбувається на рівні до 5%. Мета дослідження – одержання даних необхідних для розробки технології переробки нативного курячого посліду на генераторний газ з подальшим виробництвом електроенергії. Виконувались експериментальні дослідження фізико – механічних характеристик початкової сировини та готового продукту при напрацюванні сухого грануляту з подальшим його використанням при виробництві генераторного газу та електроенергії. Запропонований спосіб сумісного сушіння та подрібнення біомаси в одній камері дозволяє отримувати сухий гранульований продукт високої якості при мінімальних енергетичних затратах до 4000 кДж/кг випареної вологи. Проведені дослідження показали, що сировина з додаванням тирси в кількості 10 – 12 % (мас.) придатна до газифікації та подальшому використанню для роботи міні електростанції. Ключові слова: органічні відходи, альтернативного біопалива, газифікація, генераторний газ

Optimum Control of Wind Power Installation

Решена задача по разработке принципа эффективного автоматизированного управления ветроэлектрической установкой, направленная на повышение стабильности частоты вращения ротора ветроколеса и уменьшение динамических нагрузок на основные элементы конструкции, что способствует улучшению показателей надежности электроснабжения основного управления в условиях неполной информации о характеристиках метеорологических и электроэнергетических условий, существенно изменяющихся во времени. Предложен метод управления процессом производства электроэнергии путем формирования угловой скорости ротора ветроколеса и угла положения лопасти на основе упреждения изменений скорости ветра и величины потребляемой электроэнергии, на малых промежутках времени (среднеквадратическая ошибка математического ожидания метеопараметра не превышает 4 %). Определение интервала времени, в течение которого осуществляется осреднение измеренных значений, производится с помощью учета хронологии характера изменения внешней среды, чтобы минимизировать время контроля выходных управляемых параметров, что дает возможность повысить стабильность частоты вращения ротора ветротурбины за счет уменьшения продолжительности переходного процесса в среднем в два раза. Рассмотрен принцип формирования комбинированного управления за счет согласованного взаимодействия со стороны основного и предложенного методов принятия управляющих решений на основе разграничения времени доступа к устройству изменения положения лопастей, который реализуется на каждом шаге в соответствии с алгоритмом выработки управляющих воздействий в зависимости от характера изменения внешних возмущающих воздействий. В качестве исходных данных для работы алгоритма выступают расчетные значения угловой скорости ротора ветроколеса на прогнозируемом отрезке времени, величина отклонения расчетного значения угловой скорости от номинального и знак отклонения. Если угловая скорость изменяется в большую сторону и при этом ее отклонение превосходит допустимое значение, то управляющие решения принимаются со стороны предложенного метода управления, в противном случае решения по выработке управляющих воздействий принимаются со стороны основного управления процессом поддержания номинального значения скорости вращения ветроколеса.

Design and Development of Innovative Protracted-Finned Counter Flow Heat Exchanger (PFCHE) for an Engine WHR and Its Impact on Exhaust Emissions

This article describes and evaluates an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for waste heat recovery system both theoretically as well as experimentally. Based on the thermodynamic analysis of the exhaust gas temperature identified at different locations of the exhaust manifold of an engine, the double-pipe, internally–externally protruded, finned counter flow heat exchanger was innovatively designed and installed in diesel engine for exhaust waste heat recovery (WHR). The tests were conducted to find the performance of heat recovery system by varying the fin geometries of the heat exchanger. The effect of heat exchanger on emission parameters is investigated and presented in this work. The experimental results demonstrated that the amount of heat transfer rate, the effectiveness of heat exchange rand the brake thermal efficiency improved with an increase in length and number of the fins. A significant reduction was observed in all major emissions after the implementation of catalytic-coated, protracted finned counter flow heat exchanger. It also demonstrated the possibility of electric power production using steam turbo-electric-generator setup driven by the recovered exhaust heat energy.

Development of a Data-driven Model for Marine Gas Turbine (MGT) Engine Health Monitoring

Throughout the United States Navy, marine gas turbines (MGT) are used for the production of propulsive and electric power aboard many surface ships. The operational availability of these ships during deployments is contingent on the health and reliability of the installed MGTs. Currently, to ensure the health and proper functionality of these turbines, a series of manual evaluations are employed with varying success (e.g., pre-deployment visual inspections, periodic inspections of predefined wear out modes, characteristic vibration surveys, Integrated Performance Analysis Reports). This paper examines historical records associated with the General Electric LM2500 MGT installed for propulsion aboard Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG) and Guided Missile Cruisers (CG) to develop a deployable model of a healthy engine for the automated, near-real time comparison of sensed data. In traditional gas-path analysis (GPA), parameters such as compressor discharge pressure (CDP), compressor inlet temperature (CIT), and exhaust gas temperature (EGT) are predicted as a function of engine speed using baseline engine data and correction factors. Implementation of GPA in the MGT environment is particularly challenging, as analysis will be limited to narrow operation bands and not account for influence factors such as engine load or the performance of critical subsystems on the engine. In this work, a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) regression model is developed in order to capture the nonlinear relationships between engine controller inputs, external loads, and ambient conditions to selected sensor outputs such as gas generator speed (NGG), low pressure turbine speed (NPT ), and power turbine inlet pressure (P54). Optimal inputs and outputs are chosen using both mutual information (MI) scores and input from subject matter experts. A healthy data set was created using data from 60 MGT’s in service and time-synchronized failure records over a five year period from 2012 to 2017. An inter-engine model was trained from the healthy data set and used to generate model residuals, which show strong correlation with a variety of critical failure modes reported in maintenance history, thus enabling automatic fault detection and remote identification of asset health and reliability.