Variable Inertia Research Articles

Transient energy dissipation control of energy storage devices in wind power generation systems

The transient stability of power systems with high penetration of wind power generation can be significantly improved through the utilization of variable virtual inertia if the energy source of rotational inertia can be expanded by energy storage devices (ESDs). This paper first establishes the relationship of energy conversion between ESD and mechanical kinetic energy inside a synchronous generator (SG). Then, the impact of the controllable inertia on system frequency characteristics and power angle oscillation is analyzed using the small-signal model corresponding to this system. Based on the analysis of the change of transient energy at different stages in the transient process, the control of transient energy dissipation is proposed employing ESDs for reliable inertia support. Finally, a typical simulation system with high penetration of wind power generation is carried out to demonstrate the viability of the proposed control scheme. The test results show that the fluctuation of SG’s power angle and system frequency can be reduced by regulating the variable inertia in transient events, significantly improving the reliability of the inertia support provided by the ESDs.

Stability-Constrained Learning for Frequency Regulation in Power Grids With Variable Inertia

Stability-Constrained Learning for Frequency Regulation in Power Grids With Variable Inertia

Smartphone-based evaluation of static balance and mobility in type 2 Diabetes.

It was compared smartphone-based measurements of static balance control and mobility of elderly population with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The present cross-sectional study investigated 73 participants grouped in a control group (n = 36) and a DM2 group (n = 37). Smartphone's built in inertial sensors were used to record inertial changes of the participants during static balance and mobility (Timed Up and Go test - TUG) tasks. The inertial variations as a function of the time were analyzed and compared between groups. Both groups were matched in age, body mass index, male-female proportion, but DM2 group had significant larger fasting glucose than control group. Additionally, DM2 group had worst static balance control with open and closed eyes than the controls (p < 0.05) as well as they also had longer duration to execute the different events of the mobility test than the controls (p < 0.05). DM2 patients had decline of motor functions compared to controls and the use of bult-in sensors of smartphones was feasible to identify these functional impairments. The easy access of smartphones could be improving the screening of functional impairments in DM2 patients.

Coupling Disturbance Modeling and Compensation for Aerial Manipulator in Highly Dynamic Motion.

When a manipulator moves in a highly dynamic scenario with a large range of rapid motion, the coupling disturbances between the manipulator and the UAV in the aerial manipulator system (AMS) become very strong, which directly affects the ability of the AMS to perform aerial manipulation and even poses a threat to the safety of the system. The aim of this article is to address the strong coupling disturbance problem in the AMS through precise coupling disturbance modeling and compensation. First, considering the rapid changes in the center of mass (CoM) and the moment of inertia (MoI) of the system under a highly dynamic scenario, this article delves into the generation mechanism of the coupling disturbances and models them based on the variable inertia parameters. The proposed precise coupling disturbance model (CDM) makes good use of the state information of the system, which enables one to achieve accurate estimation of the coupling disturbances without the aid of external force and torque sensors. With the proposed model, the strong coupling disturbances in the AMS are compensated in a feedforward way during the controller design process. An indoor AMS experimental platform is developed for validation purposes. The experiments and simulation are conducted in a highly dynamic scenario, involving rapid movements of the manipulator across a large range. The experimental and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed method for suppressing the strong coupling disturbances.

Synthesis, dynamic modeling, prototyping and control of a handheld rotational inertia generator.

This paper explores the design and experimental validation of a three-degree-of-freedom variable inertia generator. An inertia generator is a handheld haptic device that renders a prescribed inertia. In the mechanism proposed in this paper, three-dimensional torque feedback is achieved by accelerating three pairs of flywheels mounted on orthogonal axes. While the primary objective of this work is to design an inertia generator, this study also includes developing other functionalities for the device that exploit its torque generation capabilities. These include the ability to generate a predefined torque profile and to simulate a viscous environment through damping, which are both utilized to assess the device's performance. The device proved to accurately render the necessary torques for every functionality while presenting some limitations for damping and rendering an inertia smaller than the device's inherent inertia.

Robustness of the Fuzzy Adaptive Speed Control of a Multi-Phase Asynchronous Machine

Fuzzy controllers are a powerful tool for controlling complex processes. However, its robustness capacity remains moderately limited because it loses its property for large ranges of parametric variations. In this paper, the proposed control method is designed, based on a fuzzy adaptive controller used as a remedy for this problem. For increase the robustness of the vector control and to maintain the performance of the five-phase asynchronous machine despite the presence of disturbances (variation of rotor resistance, rotor inertia variations, sudden variations in the load etc.), by applying the method of behaviour model control (BMC). The results of simulation show that the fuzzy adaptive control provides best performance and has a more robustness as the fuzzy (FLC) and as a conventional (PI) controller.

Individual axis control for industrial robots by posture-variant dynamic compensation and feedback control using the FDTD method

Industrial robots experience posture-dependent inertial variation and interference forces between joints, which in turn generates undesired vibrations due to the inherent elasticity of the reduction gears, making it difficult to control each axis independently. Conventionally, dynamic compensation is used to compensate the robot dynamics and decouple each axis, while state feedback control based on a two-inertia model is used for dealing with the vibrations caused by the elasticity of the reduction gears. However, the control design for this approach usually assumes a fixed moment of inertia, so its performance is compromised when large and fast changes in the robot posture occurs. In this paper, a posture-variant approach that takes into account the posture-dependent inertial variation in real time is proposed to achieve exact dynamic compensation and independent control of each axis regardless of the robot posture. The state equations of the posture-variant two-inertia system model for each robot axis are discretized using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and adapted on both the dynamic compensation and feedback control parts, allowing to easily redesign the whole control system considering the inertial variation at each control cycle. The effectiveness of the method is confirmed by experimental verification on a 6-axis industrial robot.

Reproducibility of physico-chemical properties in brakes emissions generated at the dynamometric bench

Reproducible generation, collection and physico-chemical characterization of brakes emissions are necessary when comparing particulates generated by different friction couples, brake designs or driving conditions. Furthermore, they are pivotal to provide universally reliable chemical information for source apportionment studies as well as for toxicological investigations and environmental assessments. Non-exhaust particulates generated by brakes are nowadays commonly collected at suitably designed variable inertia dynamometer benches, during selected braking test cycles in controlled conditions to avoid other contributions from the environment. In spite of being simplified models of a single real car semi-axis corner, dynamometric benches for brakes emissions collection still remain elaborate mechanical devices used for testing complex materials. Therefore, if the tribological interaction is not kept constant over different tests, significantly different local forces and temperatures might be expected at the tribological interface. This can eventually result in the generation of particulates with different granulometry and chemical composition, even if originated by the same braking device components. At this regard, the work here presented explores for the first time the capability of a brake dynamometer bench dedicated to emission tests to generate reproducible particulates. In particular, the assessment of the intrabench reproducibility over an extended period of time and number of tests is discussed. Specifically, the variability of physico-chemical properties such as particle size distribution, elemental composition and crystalline phase distribution is evaluated. In detail, it is observed that the elemental concentration of main constituents such as Iron and Oxygen are statistically equivalent during a set of ten tests, even at strict confidence level (α = 0.05). In addition, when statistical differences are observed in elemental concentration of secondary and minor constituents, their variability typically remains limited below the 10 % of the corresponding figure of merit. Similar findings are also observed when assessing the phase composition of main constituents compounds, such as Iron oxides, as well as the particle size distribution profiles. Conversely, higher relative variabilities up to 25 % are registered when assessing the phase composition of secondary and minor phases. The reported results are meant to provide a first critical assessment on the variability of both the size distribution and the chemical composition of the emissions generated by brakes in the laboratory environment typically used for their generation, measurements and collection.

Performance Analysis of a Designed Prototype of a Motor Coupled Variable Inertia Flywheel System

The presence of a substantial moment of inertia in a flywheel poses challenges at the initiation of rotation in a rotating machine. During stable operation at high velocities, several energy-saving advantages can be efficiently attained, allowing for the potential of achieving adequate energy savings in specific applications. One potential solution to address this issue is the implementation of a flywheel that possesses the ability to modify its moment of inertia. While it is possible to derive the concept of variable inertia by adjusting the radii of the masses in relation to the axis of the flywheel, the techniques employed to regulate the variable inertial flywheel are rather intricate. This study presents an implementation of a variable inertia flywheel system coupling with electrical machinery to reduce power consumption. The main objective of the study is to reduce energy consumption utilizing variable inertia flywheel. Under various motion scenarios, the advanced machine’s dynamic reaction is examined. Finally, a standard testing method demonstrates almost ninety seven percent similarity between an analytical and practical analysis.

The inertia and storage impact on the Mexican network frequency

This paper aims to properly manage the frequency within the Mexican interconnected system (MIS), composed of 158 generators, 2022 buses, 3025 lines, and a system composed of seven control areas working together to satisfy an operating condition with a demand of 20 GW. An extension of the conventional load frequency control formulation is used to execute studies for assessing the frequency behaviour in the different control areas of the MIS under sudden load increments. Likewise, to estimate the impact that variations in inertia in the different control areas may have on frequency stability. Energy storage elements are proposed by observing frequency excursions, which can provide fast support and avoid frequency nadir values below 0.025 Hz. In addition, they help to restore the nominal frequency. An optimisation formulation quantifies the storage required for the different control areas. The results exhibit an improvement in the transient frequency behaviour. On the other hand, when acquiring the energy storage elements, it is also considered prudent to use them for the ancillary services’ benefit. With this purpose, a methodology is utilised to estimate the emission changes in the control regions based on the percentage reduction in displaced fossil fuel plants. Functions to determine the global emissions of different technologies for generating electricity were investigated hinged on actual historical data; through this, the diminution in polluting emissions is quantified.

Enhanced Virtual Inertia Controller for Microgrid Applications

Unlike Synchronous Generators (SGs), Virtual Synchronous Generators (VSGs) inertia is not fixed once it is manufactured and only has an upper limit defined by its energy storage components. In this paper, a novel Enhanced Virtual Inertia Controller (EVIC) is proposed. The proposed controller alters the VSG inertia coefficient between two limiting levels in response to a grid transient. The key difference between the proposed controller and the variable inertia controller is that the proposed EVIC causes a smooth transition in the inertia coefficient while the variable inertia controller causes a discontinuous jump in it. The proposed EVIC guarantees an adaptive response to grid dynamics, such that a negligible change occurs at small disturbances and a linear and smooth increase occurs at moderate disturbances. For large disturbances, the proposed controller smoothly oscillates the inertia between two saturation levels, which then quickly returns the converter to its steady-state operating point with minimum oscillations. A qualitative study of the performance and stability margin of the proposed controller was conducted using a large signal model (nonlinear model) of VSG connected to a microgrid. The large signal model provided a complete description of the converter’s behaviour under large disturbances, which is the area of interest of the proposed controller. It also contained the small-signal dynamics (linear dynamic) within the vicinity of the equilibrium (steady-state) point. Thus, a complete description of the proposed controller dynamics is conveyed to prove its validity and adaptability.

Investigation of active voltage support control approach of DC distribution networks based on virtual inertia coordination

AbstractDC distribution networks (DCDNs) possess the advantages of high power efficiency, low operation loss, and favourable control flexibility, and are regarded as an essential form of future power distribution systems. In order to increase the voltage transient performance of DCDNs against disturbances, this paper proposes a methodology for realising the active voltage support control of DCDNs based on virtual inertia coordination. Firstly, the impact of the inertia of DCDNs towards the transient voltage change is analysed, and the active voltage support mechanism considering the variable droop inertia control and virtual DC motor inertia (VDCMI) control is explored. Then, a time sequence coordination strategy based on the voltage grading of DCDNs is developed, and an adaptive inertia coefficient is designed to achieve the inertia adjustment in terms of the voltage sag and recovery processes. Using MATLAB/Simulink, a detailed model of the double‐terminal DCDNs is created to check the efficacy of the proposed approach. Different voltage disturbance scenarios are imitated, and the comparative simulations demonstrate that the proposed approach can fully utilise the inertia potential of the DCDNs to suppress the voltage sag and smooth the voltage recovery procedure. The proposed method's validity and feasibility can be well validated.The cover image is based on the Original Article Investigation of active voltage support control approach of DC distribution networks based on virtual inertia coordination by Lei Chen et al., https://doi.org/10.1049/esi2.12123.

Design and Characterization of a Non-Linear Variable Inerter in Vehicle Suspension System

Inerter is a two-terminal component in suspension system such that the force at the two terminals is directly proportional to the relative acceleration of these two points. Studies have shown that the inerter can provide satisfactory vibration isolation for a number of suspension applications, including train suspension, building suspension and vehicle suspension. In the context of vehicle suspension, the existing passive inerter has been shown to provide benefits to vehicle dynamics performance measures, such as ride comfort and road holding ability. However, a basic passive inerter has fixed characteristic, and hence its potential is limited. This study overcome this limitation by incorporating variable inertia in inerter flywheel, however its non-linear characteristic needs to be determined. The method of achieving variable inertia in inerter flywheel is through introduction of movable masses or sliders attached with springs into inerter flywheel. The change of moment of inertia is caused by position change of sliders due to centrifugal force when the flywheel is rotating. Results showed that the proposed variable inerter exhibits a non-linear force-acceleration relationship with respect to its operating rotational speed. A vehicle suspension system equipped with a variable inerter is also able to further reduce vertical vehicle body acceleration and vehicle’s dynamic tire load when compared with vehicle suspension system without inerter and equipped with a passive inerter, which indirectly relates to a better vehicle ride and handling performance improvements. Hence, it can be proved that the proposed variable inerter is better than a passive inerter and is able to provide better ride comfort and road holding ability to a vehicle.

Design, Dynamics Modeling, and Experiments of a Vibration Energy Harvester on Bicycle

Harvesting vibration energy during riding for powering on-board appliances has been demanded. However, few vibration energy harvesters on bicycle have been reported and the output power can hardly satisfy the requirement. A vibration energy harvester for bicycle is proposed based on a directional variable inertia flywheel and coaxial mechanical motion rectifier, in order to improve the output power and stability via improving the ratio of inertia and damping. The coaxial mechanical motion rectifier is designed to convert reciprocating rotation to unidirectional rotation, and the directional variable inertia flywheel is designed to extend the overrunning phase. Dynamic modeling with two-degree-of-freedom is proposed with the consideration of the nonlinear velocity response in the overrunning phase. The input force and output voltage are simulated with different input signals and external resistances. Lab tests demonstrate that the directional variable inertia flywheel is beneficial to increasing the output power, and maximum output power of 1.73 W is achieved. Finally, road tests of applying the vibration energy harvester on a bicycle are carried out, and average output power of 2.11 W and maximum power of 9.77 W are achieved.

A novel sliding mode control with MRAS inertia identification for permanent magnet synchronous motors

To enhance the anti-inertia disturbance ability of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) speed system, an adaptive sliding mode control with inertia identification is proposed. A novel sliding mode control (NSMC) based on a new reaching law coupled with model reference adaptive system (MRAS) inertia identification is realized the adaptive control, named MRAS+NSMC. In the NSMC construct process, an integral sliding mode surface and a variable speed reaching law are introduced to avoid speed differentiation and improve dynamics, respectively. And the new reaching law imported a successive sigmoid( s) to replace the traditional sign( s) to suppress chattering phenomena. For the problem that the performance deteriorated by rotational inertia variation caused by load changes, the inertia is estimated in real time according to the MRAS theory, and the identification value is updated to the NSMC controller to realize adaptive MRAS+NSMC speed control. Experimental results show that the proposed adaptive MRAS+NSMC control has a faster speed response, and the speed response time is reduced from 85 to 49 ms compared with conventional SMC control. In addition, it has strong robustness to inertia disturbances and high speed tracking accuracy. Compared with conventional SMC, the speed tracking accuracy of proposed MRAS+NSMC is increased from 12% to 4%. This makes the proposed MRAS+NSMC control has great potential practical significance for speed control of PMSM.

Cooperative Primary Frequency Regulation Strategy of Wind Storage System Based on Variable Inertia Coefficient

Direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous wind turbine-generator (PMSG) is connected to the grid through the rotor side and grid side converter. The rotor speed is decoupled from the grid frequency, so PMSG output power cannot respond to the change in system frequency. However, with the gradual increase of wind power penetration, the static stability of system frequency is weakened, so the new grid-connected wind farm should have the ability of active frequency support. This paper proposes a cooperative primary frequency regulation (PFR) strategy for wind storage systems based on variable inertia coefficient. PMSG provides inertia based on the distribution of rotational kinetic energy and modifies the polarity of the inertia coefficient at the frequency recovery stage to speed up the frequency recovery. Droop control is realized by energy storage and variable power tracking control (VPPT). Energy storage and VPPT respectively suppress the frequency decrease/increase and only participate in the down/up single-side PFR, which can reduce the energy storage configuration capacity. And a safety discharge coefficient considering the state of charge (SOC) is introduced to prevent over-discharge of energy storage devices when outputting energy. Finally, the PFR capability of PMSG under the proposed control strategy is verified by simulation results.

Mechanical Characterization of Supernumerary Robotic Tails for Human Balance Augmentation

Abstract Humans are intrinsically unstable in quiet stance from a rigid body system viewpoint; however, they maintain balance, thanks to neuro-muscular sensory control properties. With increasing levels of balance related incidents in industrial and ageing populations globally each year, the development of assistive mechanisms to augment human balance is paramount. This work investigates the mechanical characteristics of kinematically dissimilar one and two degrees-of-freedom (DoF) supernumerary robotic tails for balance augmentation. Through dynamic simulations and manipulability assessments, the importance of variable coupling inertia in creating a sufficient reaction torque is highlighted. It is shown that two-DoF tails with solely revolute joints are best suited to address the balance augmentation issue. Within the two-DoF options, the characteristics of open versus closed loop tails are investigated, with the ultimate design selection requiring trade-offs between environmental workspace, biomechanical factors, and manufacturing ease to be made.

Variable Blade Inertia in State-of-the-Art Wind Turbine Structural-Dynamics Models

This paper presents a comparison of two methods to represent variable blade inertia in two codes for aero-servo-elastic simulations of wind turbines: the nonlinear aeroelastic multi-body model HAWC2 and the nonlinear geometrically exact beam model BeamDyn for OpenFAST. The main goal is to enable these tools to simulate the dynamic behavior of a wind turbine with variable blade inertia. However, current state-of-the-art load simulation tools for wind turbines cannot simulate variable blade inertia, so the source code of these tools must be modified. The validity of the modified codes is proven based on a simple beam model. The validation shows very good agreement between the modified codes of HAWC2, BeamDyn and an analytical calculation. The add-on of variable blade inertias is applied to reduce the mechanical loads of a 5-megawatt reference wind turbine with an integrated hydraulic-pneumatic flywheel in its rotor blades.

Improved fractional order speed controller with non-linear VSI-IM model to enhance the load disturbance capability

The conventional PI-based speed controllers are susceptible to speed tracking error and limited load rejection capability. This paper presents the high-performance fractional-order PI speed controller (FOPI) for field oriented control of induction motor (FOC-IM) drives with enhanced disturbance rejection capability. The design of FOPI involves third-order voltage source inverter fed induction motor (VSI-IM) model identification, fitting it into the required phase margin and gain margin constraints and Oustaloups fractional element approximation. The identification algorithm using the hardware-in-loop system is provided. The non-linear integer order VSI-IM model improves the tracking and dynamic performance of the drive. The designed FOPI speed controller performance is compared with the literature’s existing FOPI controller design methods. The experimental analysis found that, in terms of speed tracking, parameter variations, inertia variations, and disturbance rejection capabilities, the suggested controller is more effective and resilient than existing tuning approaches.

Quantification of the effects of the spatial variation of ground motions on the seismic response of highway bridges

The stochastic responses of highway bridges to spatial variation of ground motions (SVGM) are analysed in this paper. A model of spatially varying ground motions is used to investigate the relative importance of the incoherency effect, the wave passage effect and the site effects on the stochastic dynamic response of an asymmetrical R.C box girder highway bridge with variable inertia. In this study, the incoherency effect is investigated using two widely used models while the wave-passage effect is incorporated using various wave velocities. Then, the random vibration theory is applied to study the effect of the non-uniform seismic excitations on the bridge structure. The bridge response is evaluated in terms of the mean values of the maximum displacements and the bending moments. Analyses of both stationary and transient response are performed. The results show that the stochastic dynamic responses related to site effects are mostly much greater than those calculated using uniform, delayed and incoherent seismic excitation assumptions. As a result, analytical models used for the stochastic dynamic analysis of long span highway bridges should take into account all the SVGM components, particularly the site-response effects.