Design of a Three-Phase Grid Connector System Using Power Transfer from Park’s Transformation

Instabilities in grid-connected inverters can arise from a number of sources, including mismatched parameters, grid impedance, faults, and feedback delays. Park’s transformation provides accurate control over reactive and active (real) power. This enhances the overall efficiency of the system by enabling operators to control reactive power compensation and optimize energy flow. In dynamic settings, this guarantees greater system stability and faster response times. The current paper aims to improve the grid system by utilizing the dq0 controller. The current work focuses on the analysis based on simulations and theory, where the state space equation serves as the basis for dq-axis current decoupling. A MATLAB platform was used to simulate the complete system. TDH values of 2.45%, or less than 5%, in the given results are acceptable. The suggested controller was hence appropriate for grid system applications.

Comprehensive review and performance evaluation of maximum power point tracking algorithms for photovoltaic system

A photovoltaic array is environmentally friendly and a source of unlimited energy generation.However,it is presently a costlier energy generation system than other non-renewable energy sources.The main reasons are seasonal variations and continuously changing weather conditions,which affect the amount of solar energy received by the solar panels.In addition,the non-linear characteristics of the voltage and current outputs along with the operating environment temperature and variation in the solar radiation decrease the energy conversion capability of the photovoltaic arrays.To address this problem,the global maxima of the PV arrays can be tracked using a maximum power point tracking algorithm(MPPT)and the operating point of the photovoltaic system can be forced to its optimum value.This technique increases the efficiency of the photovoltaic array and minimizes the cost of the system by reducing the number of solar modules required to obtain the desired power.However,the tracking algorithms are not equally effective in all areas of application.Therefore,selecting the correct MPPT is very critical.This paper presents a detailed review and comparison of the MPPT techniques for photovoltaic systems,with consideration of the following key parameters:photovoltaic array dependence,type of system(analog or digital),need for periodic tuning,convergence speed,complexity of the system,global maxima,implemented capacity,and sensed parameter(s).In addition,based on real meteorological data(irradiance and temperature at a site located in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia),a simulation is performed to evaluate the performance of tracking algorithms suitable for the application being studied.Finally,the study clearly validates the considerable energy saving achieved by using these algorithms.

Clustering-based adaptive low-power subframe configuration with load-aware offsetting in dense heterogeneous networks

Heterogeneous Networks(HetNets)and cell densification represent promising solutions for the surging data traffic demand in wireless networks.In dense HetNets,user traffic is steered toward the Low-Power Node(LPN)when possible to enhance the user throughput and system capacity by increasing the area spectral efficiency.However,because of the transmit power differences in different tiers of HetNets and irregular service demand,a load imbalance typically exists among different serving nodes.To offload more traffic to LPNs and coordinate the Inter-Cell Interference(ICI),Third-Generation Partnership Project(3GPP)has facilitated the development of the Cell Range Expansion(CRE),enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination(eICIC)and Further enhanced ICIC(FeICIC).In this paper,we develop a cell clustering-based load-aware offsetting and an adaptive Low-Power Subframe(LPS)approach.Our solution allows the separation of User Association(UA)functions at the User Equipment(UE)and network server such that users can make a simple cell-selection decision similar to that in the maximum Received Signal Strength(max-RSS)based UA scheme,where the network server computes the load-aware offsetting and required LPS periods based on the load conditions of the system.The proposed solution is evaluated using system-level simulations wherein the results correspond to performance changes in different service regions.Results show that our method effectively solves the offloading and interference coordination problems in dense HetNets.

High Wind Power Penetration Large-Scale Hybrid Renewable Energy System Design for Remote Off-Grid Application

This study looks into the resource assessment, technology economics and modeling of different energy alternatives and proposes a rechargeable battery storage-based large-scale wind/photovoltaic hybrid power system to meet an average electrical load demand of 2.4 MW and peak load of 2.9 MW for a remote rural district in Ethiopia called Geladin. The district is 682 km away from nearby grid. The site enjoys high solar and wind resources that can be harnessed for electric power generation to electrify the community. HOMER simulation software is used for optimal sizing and techno-economic analysis. The diesel generator is used as back up to fill the gaps in case both resources are out. Average monthly solar irradiation data of 6.2 kWh/m2 is determined from measured sunshine duration data by implementing a suitable specific model for the site. NASA satellite based estimated wind speed data of 10 years average at hub height of 50 m for the site in question is extracted from the SWERA (Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment) database (with annual average of 6.1 m/s) and its weigh-bull distribution parameter, k of 1.98 is estimated which indicates a fair wind speed distribution of the site to generate electric power using wind turbine. The proposed optimal system results electricity generation indicates that 92% from wind turbine, 3% from photovoltaic, 5% from diesel generator and managed to obtain a much lower cost of energy (COE = 0.11USD/kWh) than other alternatives investigated in this study such as grid extension and diesel generator.

Preparation of Charcoal Using Flower Waste

Ethiopia is the second largest flower exporter in Africa. However, finding effective solutions for flowers waste management that are economical, efficient and environmentally friendly is a very difficult task. In this paper, a novel technology to recover energy from flower waste with the objective of producing biochar from flower waste by using pyrolysis has been presented. The pyrolysis reactor has been designed, manufactured and tested. Characterization of the flower waste has also been done by estimating the ultimate and proximate analysis. Besides the energy content has been measured by using Bomb calorimeter. Detailed proximate analysis has been performed and the energy content of the biochar has also been measured. The result shows that 10 kg of biochar is produced by using 18 kg of flower waste with a conversion efficiency of 55.5% and approximately 310.8 kg of biochar can be generated daily. Based on the result, the measured value of lower heating value of the produced biochar is 26.54 MJ/kg and approximately 392.2 kg of firewood is replaced daily. Thus, by adopting this innovative technology and producing biochar, the amount of flower waste is reduced from going to the landfill, energy is recovered from flower waste, income is generated from the selling of the produced biochar and the energy problems of the society is solved and finally environmental impact of the flower waste is reduced.

Modeling for Inter-Basin Groundwater Transfer Identification: The Case of Upper Rift Valley Lakes and Awash River Basins of Ethiopia

Groundwater movement beneath watershed divide is one component of the hydrological cycle that is typically ignored due to difficulty in analysis. Numerical ground-water models, like TAGSAC, have been used extensively for predicting aquifer responses to external stresses. In this paper TAGSAC code was developed to identify the inter-basin groundwater transfer (IBGWT) between upper Awash River basin (UARB) and upper rift valley lakes basin (URVLB) of Ethiopia. For the identification three steady state groundwater models (for UARB, URVLB and for the two combined basins) were first created and calibrated for the 926 inventoried wells. The first two models are conceptualized by considering the watershed divide between the two basins as no-flow. The third model avoids the surface water divide which justifies IBGWT. The calibration of these three models was made by changing the recharge and hydrogeologic parameters of the basins. The goodness of fit indicators (GoFIs) obtained was better for the combined model than the model that describes the URVLB. Furthermore, the hydraulic head distribution obtained from the combined model clearly indicates that there is a groundwater flow that doesn’t respect the surface water divide. The most obvious effect of IBGWT observed in these two basins is that it diminishes surface water discharge from URVLB, and enhances discharge in the UARB. Moreover, the result of this study indicates potential for internal and cross contamination of the two adjacent groundwater.

Effect of Reference Conveyance Parameter Usage on Real Time Canal Performance: The Case of Fentale Irrigation Scheme in Ethiopia

In designing a canal system, a major problem is to decide what conveyance parameter to apply in the calculations. Since basic knowledge on this subject is lacking, it is usually taken from literatures. Most of the irrigation projects in Ethiopia are found to work below their expectation. One of the main reasons is the conveyance parameters variation from the expected (design) value which ultimately affects the envisioned conveyance efficiency. To evaluate this variation, Fentale irrigation scheme was used as case study. The conveyance efficiency used at the design stage was 80%, which was within Food and Agricultural Organization of the united nations recommendations;while the field survey value was 17%. Such huge variation was due to the fact that the assigned conveyance parameter values (roughness coefficient, hydraulic radius and bed slope) no longer represent the current situation of the scheme. Such variation has resulted in increase in the depth and top width of the water surface which further resulted in 13% and 3% increase in wetted perimeter and top width of the canal, respectively. Thus this study suggests that conveyance parameters shall be derived from history of existing irrigation schemes in a country, rather than adopting it from standard literatures. As such construction quality, maintenance activities and technological transfer activities in a country shall be seen in deciding the conveyance parameters. The study also suggests that the ever increasing water shortage in an irrigation project could be managed by proper maintenance of the entire irrigation system.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Best Management Practices in Gilgel Gibe Basin WatershedmEthiopia

Soil erosion/sedimentation is an immense problem threatening the live storage capacity of dam reservoirs in Ethiopia. This in turn reduces the power generation capacities of hydropower reservoirs. Therefore, studies which give insight into soil erosion/sedimentation mechanisms and mitigation methods is important. The high rate of soil erosion/sedimentation threats the lifespan of Gilgel Gibe-I hydropower reservoir, The problem of sedimentation in Gilgel Gibe-I will also affect Gilgel Gibe-2 which uses the water released from Gilgel Gibe-1. The sustainability of these hydropower plants needs catchment management practices that will reduce soil erosion. This paper presents the results of monthly and yearly sediment yield simulations experiments conducted for Gilgel Gibe-1 under different BMP （best management practice） scenarios. The scenarios applied in this paper are： （1） maintaining existing conditions; （2） introducing filter strips; （3） applying stone/soil bunds; （4） reforestation. The SWAT （soil and water assessment tool） was used to model soil erosion, identify soil erosion prone areas and assess the impact of BMPs on sediment reduction via simulations. The simulation results showed that applying filter strips, stone bunds and reforestation scenarios could reduce the current sediment yields at soil erosion prone areas and at the outlet of the catchment area which is the inlet to Gilgel Gibe-I reservoir.

Simplified Full Dynamic Analysis of a Railway Tunnel in Ethiopia

This paper presents an effective means of analyzing the safety of a tunnel under dynamic loading in areas with seismic records. A particular case of the railway tunnel in the earthquake-prone regions of the escarpment seismic zone of Ethiopia was the specific focus area of the research. Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) and deaggregation have been conducted to determine the design earthquake required as an input for the dynamic analysis. The PSHA performed by considering the operating design earthquake with conservative assumptions of the local geological features resulted in a peak ground acceleration of 0.36. Two pairs of design earthquake have been obtained from the deaggregation process, which were used to filter acceleration time histories for the selected design earthquake from the ground motion database of Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. Finally, full dynamic analyses of the tunnel have been performed by applying the scaled acceleration time histories corresponding to the structure in the specific site. It was demonstrated how to prove the stability of the tunnel located in difficult ground conditions by performing plane strain analyses with the possible minimum computational efforts.

Energy Analysis in Irrigated Sugarcane Schemes of Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Sugarcane is one of the important irrigated crops in Ethiopia and its production is highly linked with its energy and water use. In this paper, identifications and quantifications of input and output, direct and indirect energy sources, and energy use of farm operations were carried out on 11 irrigation schemes of Awash River Basin. In order to grow 91.8 to 167.6 tons of cane, 47.9 to 143.4 GJ/ha of total energy was used. Average total input energies of gravity, pump surface and sprinkler scheme categories to grow 109.8, 112.7 and 136.3 ton/ha were 53.6, 68.9 and 129.2 GJ/ha, respectively. Around 90% and 74% total energies of gravity surface and sprinkler schemes were consumed as direct and indirect energies, respectively. Irrigation found to be the most energy consuming operation constituting more than 50% input energy of all scheme categories. Energy efficiency of gravity schemes was 152% and 300% higher than pump driven surface and sprinkler schemes. Energy sequestrated in cane straws burned during harvesting found to be higher than fertilizer and pumping energy demands. Use of cane straws as manure and energy sources have the potential to substitute demands which in turn needs further investigations and analysis.

Stabilization of Expansive Soil Using Biomedical Waste Incinerator Ash

Expansive soils undergo high volume change due to cyclic swelling and shrinkage behavior during the wet and dry seasons.Thus,such problematic soils should be completely avoided or properly treated when encountered as subgrade materials.In the present study,the biomedical waste incinerator ash and lime combination was proposed to stabilize expansive soil.Particle size analysis,Atterberg limits,free-swell,compaction,unconfined com­pression strength,and California bearing ratio tests were conducted on the natural soil and blended with 3%,5%,7%,9%,and 11%biomedical waste incinerator ash(BWIA).The optimum content of BWIA was determined based on the free-swell test results.To further investigate the relative effec­tiveness of the stabilizer,2%and 3%lime were also added to the optimum soil-BWIA mixture and UCS and CBR tests were also conducted.In addi­tion,scanning electron microscopy(SEM)tests for representative stabilized samples were also conducted to examine the changes in microfabrics and structural arrangements due to bonding.The addition of BWIA has a prom­ising effect on the index properties and strength of the expansive soil.The strength of the expansive soil significantly increased when it was blended with the optimum content of BWIA amended by 2%and 3%lime.

Water Consumption by Hydropower, Does It Worth Allocation under Ethiopian Context

The Ethiopian water policy strictly follows water allocation as a principle in setting out water consumption problems and demand projection. Hydroelectric power plants supply the larger share (88%) of the electricity in Ethiopia. 86% of Ethiopia’s plan to 2020 energy supply is expected to be from hydropower. This paper defines water consumption in hydropower production as the quantity of water that leaves the analyzed projects (reservoir regulated hydropower projects) through evaporation. Water consumed by hydropower development has never been studied at a country scale. Thus, in attempting to understand water consumption by the hydropower development, this study will be the first to acknowledge the water consumption by all storage regulated hydropower plants developed in Ethiopia. While studying and designing reservoir regulated hydropower production, the overall effect of water consumption by the projects is assumed to be minimal;thus ignoring water allocation to hydropower projects is a common procedure in Ethiopia. In this study, for multipurpose projects, to identify the water consumption by hydropower against the other purpose (irrigation) consumption, water consumption factors based on economic benefits were used. The study has shown that the 14 existing and under construction reservoir regulated hydropower projects will consume 1.881 billion m3 of water annually. This will make hydropower the second most water consuming water resource development next to Irrigation in the country. Together with the 22 upcoming projects the water consumption will be 3.756 billion m3/year. The results also show that hydropower consumption in the country will take an average of 2.41% of the total water stored in a reservoir. This value is in the range of nearly zero for power projects that use natural lakes as their reservoir (Tana Beles, Tis Abay I & II) and GERD to 10.64%. The total reservoir volume that will be created in the country after completion of the 22 planned projects is larger than 233 BCM, which is greater than the surface water volume the country possesses. This indicates that the future water consumption by hydropower plants shall be revised in accordance with changes made in the final design of each planned projects. Nonetheless, this research provides scientific support for the argument that the production of hydroelectricity by reservoir regulated hydropower schemes, in countries like Ethiopia, is a water consumer. Thus, water allocation shall not ignore its demand.

Autotransformer fed traction power supply system: analysis, modeling and simulation

For many decades, Ethiopia had been using a meter gauge railway from Addis Ababa to the red sea port of Djibouti. Currently, the century old railway is completely replaced by a brand new standard gauge electrified railway line aiming to connect the country to the global market by guaranteeing a unified access to different regions of the country. In order to meet modern railway standards, a 1 x 25 kV catenary system is adopted in Ethio-Djibouti railway line corridor. In this paper, an alternative and a more superior 2 x 25 kV traction power supply system is presented. The modeling and analysis of the 2 x 25 kV traction supply system including the traction load, the substation power transformer, the autotransformer(AT), the catenary line impedance, etc., are performed. In addition, in order to validate the benefits of the proposed system, a comparative analysis of the two types of traction power supply arrangement has been conducted using MATLAB simulation. The analysis focuses on evaluating the voltage profiles of both power supply configurations on the basis of BS EN 50163:2004 international standard.